Bride of Mephiles: The Original
by CrankshaftRabbit
Summary: Set after the events of Sonic '06. A depressed Amy soon becomes the target of a resurrected Mephiles who seems intent on keeping her as a companion, despite the efforts of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Major Meph/Sonamy. Rated M. News for a sequel inside :D Title Change due to clones.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: What up People! I'm going to try and write this in the style of 'Dracula'. The original novel I mean. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this. This will be my first fic to involve major Sonamy. But don't worry, there will definately be MAJOR Mephamy in this.**

**Disclaimer: All characters featured in this story belongs to SEGAAAAAA! respectively(duh).**

**Enjoy. No Flames please. Thank you :)**

* * *

><p>-Chapter 1-<p>

Mobius suddenly shook violently back and forth. Emerging from the lush green earth, was a crystalline formed creature. He struggled to the surface, dragging his bluish purple and grey body along. Following him was spits of lava, making something of a groaning noise.

This was Mephiles. The demon who was once an all seeing and all powerful god known as Solaris. He still had those abilities and powers, but he didn't have Iblis. Iblis was the brute force that created the god that Mephiles once was, but now, he was nothing more than a bubbling pool of molten lava.

Mephiles remembered what had happened to him. He was defeated by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver in their Super Forms. A crushing blow. Not to mention humiliating. But at least he survived. Just barely. Mephiles struggled to his feet, determined to go forth and conquer once more. He would have to regain his strength first.

Slowly, and painfully, he transformed back into his 'hedgehog' form. The form he stole from Shadow when he was released from his prison, the Scepter of Darkness. Now he looked as if he took quite a beating from someone. Mephiles trudged onward repeating his goals in his dark mind.

Must regain strength.

Must retain former glory.

After hours of forcing himself to move forward, Mephiles finally found a cave to hide in. The skies above began to darken with clouds as black as his heart, pouring rain and shooting lightning bolts. Mephiles fell to the ground extremely exhausted and weak. He stared out into the grey and foggy horizon, still murmuring his self-appointed mission.

Must regain strength.

Must retain former glory.


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

3 months later, no one had realized the demon had returned, not even Shadow. It was during this time that Mephiles was able to regain some of his lost power and strength. All the while, he had not moved from his spot in the cave. Aimlessly staring into one direction of space. Every now and then he'd let out a sigh, silently waiting for his strength to regain its full power.

-

In the Green Hill Zone, was a slowly strolling Amy Rose. She needed to be someplace alone. Not much was happening these days. Her best friend Cream and her mother, Vanilla, were on vacation and Big was off somewhere fishing. Dr. Eggman had not been seen or heard from for some time, which made one wonder if either he finally given up on conquering the world, or if he was extensively plotting his next plan for conquest. Tails had spent the last 4 and a half months working on his projects at his workshop in Mystic Ruins. Knuckles of course was back at his post of guarding the Master Emerald. Rouge and Shadow had long since returned to G.U.N.

And what was Sonic up to?

That was the very question that taunted Amy into slight depression. She had continued her mission to track down the cerulean speedster and begin a relationship with him. Though she slowed down a bit in her chase a few weeks after the Incident in Soleanna to spend some time with Cream before she went away. During that time Amy became less energetic and a little more soft spoken.

When Sonic came back around, he seemed to be distracted and hardly noticed Amy or her somewhat matured demeanor at all. This left her feeling down, even more so when Sonic ditched her each time she tried meeting with him. He hadn't even noticed that she had gotten over her 'glomping' phase. The female hedgehog was starting to give up. But doing so made her feel quite lonely, especially without Cream, Vanilla, or Big around. That was why she was in Green Hill Zone strolling aimlessly around. Wondering where everyone was and what they were doing.

-

Mephiles had regained enough strength to finally leave the confines of the cave. He too was walking aimlessly around. But he was also looking for something to do. Or destroy. He soon found himself in Mystic Ruins, where the demonic being felt a sudden surge of energy. Following it, Mephiles discovered the shrine where the Master Emerald rested. Standing in front of it, and with a somewhat solemn look, was Knuckles. Fortunately for the demon, Knuckles didn't seem to notice him. The unfortunate thing, was that Mephiles wasn't quite strong enough to take the echidna on. However, another soul was unwittingly coming towards him.

One that quite less powerful than Knuckles.


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

Amy ran and ran. Tears were threatening to leave her jade eyes. She couldn't believe what she just seen. She wished she hadn't seen that. Why did these things always happen to her?

Amy had continued her stroll through the Green Hills Zone, when she suddenly came across Sonic. And another girl. It was a female chipmunk, with amber hair, a blue vest and boots. The act that caused Amy to flee in despair was Sonic and the other girl hugging.

Amy ran as fast as she could. She wanted to get away. Far away. She hadn't realize where she was heading. And frankly she didn't care. The sakura hedgehog family came to a stop in Mystic Ruins, breathing hard. She fell into a heap against a tree and began to quietly sob.

'Why?' she asked herself. "Why Sonikku?"

It was an hour before the poor female finally stopped crying. She sat in silence against the trunk of the tree with her head hanging. It seemed like an eternity before she finally got to her feet. Dirt and mud stained the hem of her dress. Slowly she trudged on her way, still not knowing where she was going and she caring. In fact, she didn't care much about anything anymore. Not even about the fact she was secretly being stalked.

-

Mephiles cocked his head back and forth. At first, he couldn't make anything of this young blossoming female. If he remembered correctly, this was the female hedgehog that was always trying to tag around that blue he almost succeeded in killing. Amy Rose wasn't it? Mephiles leaned on a tree branch watching this young woman. Now that he thought about it, she sure had matured a lot since he last saw her.

Quite a lot.

For some reason, seeing her distraught and unhappy, made him feel, turned on. Something about this female drove him to her. When she finally started to wander off, Mephiles followed her in earnest. It certainly didn't hurt him to do so since she wasn't going anywhere. The demon became deep in thought while he stalked the cherry pink hedgehog.

'She could be useful.' Mephiles pondered. 'And after all, I could use a companion.'

The demon's eyes glew red before jumping down.

-

Amy felt like a total wreck. She still couldn't believe what she had seen before. Perhaps Amy should've seen this coming. Sonic's recent behavior and attitude had to have been her first clue. Each passing minute of deep thought made the female feel more and more down. And sad. Amy slowly walked through the lush jungle, trying to find some peace of mind. Unaware that a dark figure was following her every move.

She suddenly heard a thump behind her, causing Amy to spin around and confront the figure that was now before her. At first, Amy was confused.

'Is that...Shadow? No wait, he's different somehow.'

She was correct. It wasn't Shadow at all. It was completely different person altogether.

"Hello there, little girl." the male hedgehog rasped.

His voice made Amy jump. It was like hearing rust grind against something, and deep. Amy wasn't quite sure what to make of him. But she was curious.

"Who...who are you?" she asked cautiously.

-

Mephiles grinned. Of course she didn't remember him. Everything that happened in Soleanna including memories were extinguished upon Solaris' destruction. But it was a good thing. He could work it to his advantage.

"I am Mephiles." the dark hedgehog said.

Amy knew it. She knew that person in front of her couldn't be Shadow.

"I'm uh...Amy..." she stammered in reply. "Amy Rose."

Mephiles cocked his head to the right. Her name seemed to suite her. Especially along with her sakura fur.

"Amy...that sounds...lovely." Mephiles giggled.

Amy felt quite unnerved by him with each passing second. Out of fear and instinct, she backed away from the grey and pale green-striped hedgehog. Mephiles cocked his head again in curiosity.

"What?" he said. "Are you afraid of me?"

That only made Amy even more unnerved by him. Her anxiety of the whole situation caused the adrenaline in her blood to rush. Mephiles could feel her fear. He felt it somewhat, delightful. But it deterred him from his 'prize'.

"Don't be afraid." he whispered.

His request did not wane her fear however. She started to back away.

"Wha-What do you want?" Amy questioned.

Mephiles menacingly smiled.

"Just your company is all." he replied.

That was it. Amy couldn't stand it anymore. She turned and ran as fast as she could. After running quite a distance away, she stopped and hid behind a tree to catch her breath. When Amy thought she lost him, the demon suddenly appeared at her side.

"Miss me?" Mephiles coyly remarked.

Amy let out a startled cry and scampered away from him. In her now desperate mind, she wished that her once cobalt hero was there to help.

'Sonic...' she cried mentally.

"Sonic won't come."

The sakura hedgehog gasped when she suddenly heard Mephiles' voice behind her.

"He's not coming. I believe he's...'preoccupied' with someone else. Besides, what do you see in him for?"

Amy's eyes began to brim with tears as he said this. The cold hard truth, crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

"Why not come away with me?" Mephiles asked in a syrupy voice. "I am give you what he could not."

Amy stared at him with fear when he made his proposal to her. Mephiles stood there with his hand out, assured that the young flower would take it. But she didn't.

"Nooo..." she rasped. "No!"

Amy turned and attempted to get away but Mephiles would not be denied. He went after her and caught her effortlessly. Amy violently struggled to get away but the demon's arms were like iron.

"You WILL be mine." Mephiles whispered in her ear.

Then he parted his now apparent lips, revealing long, sharp fangs. Mephiles promptly sank them on the cleft of her neck. Amy let out a blood curdling scream.


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

Amy's screams were heard by none other than Knuckles the Echidna. He was incidentally close by when Mephiles attacked the young female. Hearing her shrill cries caused him to jump.

"Is that Amy?" he asked himself.

He took into the air, attempting to look the origins of the screams. In no time at all he found Amy, now alone and on the ground, violently shuddering and shivering.

"Amy!" Knuckles cried.

He ran over to the quaking female hedgehog and dropped to his knees besides her. She continued to shiver as if she were freezing or in pain.

"K-knuckles..." she rasped. "...h...h-help."

The ruby echidna picked her up carefully and was caught by something on the cleft of her neck. It was a strange purple bite-like mark surrounded by reddish inflammation of the skin underneath Amy's sakura fur. Realizing what was going on with her body, Knuckles rushed Amy to the Master Emerald. He needed to rid Amy of the dark energy that was apparently coursing through her entire body. The poor flower still shivered in his arms as he neared the Master Emerald.

Knuckles promptly placed Amy's shuddering form on top of the gigantic gem and frantically chanted Tikal's Prayer. The Master Emerald began to glow and made a high pitched sound as it combated and attempted to purify the dark aura taking over the poor girl's body. Knuckles prayed that the emerald did not get corrupted itself. Finally, the Master Emerald's work came to a stop as it slowly dimmed and silenced it's high pitched cry. Knuckles raced over to Amy, who now wasn't shaking anymore, but still quietly moaning. She was exhausted by the whole ordeal. Knuckles carefully picked her up again and took her to Tails' Workshop.

-

Tails had two workshops. A homely one in Mystic Ruins, and a more industrious one in Station Square. It was the workshop in Station Square where Knuckles was heading to. He was also hoping that Tails would be there. He landed on the workshop porch and rang the doorbell. A minute passed by without answer.

'Come on, Tails open up.' Knuckles desperately thought.

After another minute, the door was opened by a yawning kitsune who was apparently sleeping when Knuckles came knocking.

"Erm..hey Knuc-whoa!"

Tails became wide awake when he saw Amy dangling like a rag doll in the guardian's arms.

"Tails, we need to use your medical bay quick!" Knuckles rasped.

"S-sure!"

In no time at all, Amy was in a hospital dress and lying on a bed with an IV tube in her arm. Tails and Knuckles watched her while she slept.

"So, what happened?" Tails asked.

"I'm not quite sure." Knuckles replied. "I was watching the Master Emerald like always, until I heard Amy screaming. I rushed over to where she was, and found her on the ground shivering like a damn leaf."

Tails gave a shocked look.

"Why?" he asked again.

"I have a few suspicions." the ruby echidna said. "Did you see that purple mark on her neck?"

"Yeah. It looks like something bit her."

"Well it is a bite mark, but it's not anything like those dang horror stories."

"How?"

"It looks like something or someone of demonic power bit her. I thought it might have been Chaos who did it, but it didn't feel like Chaos. It feels somewhat..darker."

"So, should we worry about Amy turning into something?"

"Nope. It's like I told you before, it's not anything like that supernatural crap. The bite on Amy's neck is actually a courting mark. Which is something I do not like."

The yellow twin-tailed fox gave a confused look.

"Courting mark?" he said. "What the heck is that?"

Knuckles gave a rather uncomfortable expression. He didn't really want to explain this to kid. Nor did he know how.

"Well, um, you know." Knuckles stammered."Something that people do when, they're um, dating. It's how guys mark their territory."

"I still don't get it." Tails said in confusion.

"You will when get older."

-

A couple of hours later, Amy fluttered eyes open and looked around in a daze.

"Ohhhh."

Her stirring gained Knuckles' attention. He went over to the young flower's side.

"Amy, are you feeling okay?" Knuckles asked softly.

"I-I think so..."

She tried sitting up a little. Amy groaned in pain from her neck making Knuckles concerned.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. "The bite?"

Amy gave a blank look.

"B-bite?"

Knuckles took a small mirror and showed her the purplish mark on the cleft of her neck. Amy's eyes widened in shock.

"Wha-what's that?" Amy cried.

"Well, I was hoping you would tell me." Knuckles replied.

"Huh?"

"I found you knocked out in Mystic Ruins. Can you remember why?"

Amy thought for a minute. Why was she in Mystic Ruins? She remembered strolling around in Green Hills Zone. And then, Amy saw Sonic...with that female chipmunk. Then she ran away, and after that...

The pink hedgehog gasped as she suddenly recalled what had happened to her...


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

"I...I was walking in Mystic Ruins," Amy explained. "a-and then, this guy, he...he looked almost like Shadow, but he wasn't. He...called himself Mephiles."

"Go on." Knuckles said.

"He started coming towards me." Amy continued. "And...I was getting scared, because he was acting creepy. Really creepy. Then I finally started to run, and then he...he.."

Amy buried her face in her hands and whimpered. Knuckles was deep in thought. Mephiles. The sound of the name sent a few shivers down his spine and his crimson fur to ruffle a bit.

"Who's Mephiles?" Tails asked.

"I'm not completely sure myself." Knuckles replied. "Perhaps, maybe he's Shadow's brother or something, since Amy said he looked like him. That's a start."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"You stay and make sure Amy is safe. I'll head over to the G.U.N. HQ and pay a visit to Shadow."

"Okay."

-

Knuckles promptly headed for the G.U.N. HQ building, not wanting to waste precious time. In the lobby, he was greeted by Rouge, who just happened to be passing by.

"Hey there, Knuckles." the ivory bat greeted in her signature sultry tone. "Long time no see."

"I need to see to see Shadow." Knuckles told her, almost not paying attention to her advances.

"What for?"

"I need to ask him a few questions."

"About what pray tell?" said a hushed voice.

Rouge and Knuckles turned around and saw Shadow coming out from a hall.

"Do you know anyone named Mephiles?" Knuckles inquired.

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"I don't recall ever meeting anyone by that name." he replied.

"Who's Mephiles?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles then dived into the incident regarding Amy being attacked in Mystic Ruins.

"Oh my." Rouge said with a worried expression.

Shadow looked a little pissed. He did not like the fact that apparently someone was going around posing as him.

"Where did you say you last saw this 'Mephiles'?" Shadow asked.

"Mystic Ruins." Knuckles replied.

"Very well."

With that the Ultimate Lifeform took off without a word.

"So is Amy alright?" Rouge asked the ruby guardian.

"She should be." he replied. "Although I'm worried about the mark on her neck."

"What mark?"

-

Amy decided to take a nap after Knuckles went off to G.U.N. Tails was in the next room working on a computer. Soon the female was fast asleep. So soundly that even the even the beeping noises that came from the machinery around her.

Suddenly, she heard a deep dark voice in her head.

'...Amy.'

The voice caused the young flower to wake. She knew that voice from anywhere. The only trouble was that when Amy looked around, no one was there. She slowly got up and walked out of the room. Tails had long since removed the IV tube from her arm. Amy poked her head out from the doorway and looked both ways. Nobody was there. She came out and found Tails at his computer.

"Oh, hey Amy." the kitsune greeted after noticed her. "Are you feeling better?"

"Y-yeah..." she replied. "Hey, is there somebody else in here?"

Tails threw her a confused look.

"Ummm, not that I know of. Why?"

"I thought I heard someone calling me."

"Wasn't me."

"Well, it was probably my imagination."

After a minute or two, Amy slowly retreated back towards her room.

"Where are you goin'?" Tails asked.

"Back to bed..." Amy mumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6-

Oh her way back down the hall, Amy heard the voice again.

'...Amy'

The sakura hedgehog let out a gasp after hearing the now loud and clear voice in her mind. She shook her head and told herself that she was hearing things. But Amy kept hearing the voice.

'...Amy..come to me.'

'Wha...?'

She knew she had to be a total idiot for responding, but Amy wanted to know why she was suddenly hearing voices.

'...Come to me..'

The voice now sounded VERY persistent. A little too persistent for Amy.

'No...go away!'

She then decided to ignore the voice henceforth.

-

Tails continued working on his computer after Amy left. He was so absorbed with activities, that he didn't notice a puddle of glowing purple matter slinking slowly around. Then the telephone in the other room rang, prompting Tails to go and answer it.

"Hello? Oh hey, Sonic!"

As the young fox launched a conversation with the cerulean hedgehog, the purple matter moved slowly on. It caused the door to the hall to close and lock on its own and continued into the hall. Approaching the room that Amy was sleeping in, it slunk underneath the closed door. As soon as it got into the room, the puddle materialized and took form. Now standing in the room, was Mephiles.

-

Mephiles had to flee from 'marking' Amy as his own because Knuckles had interfered. He was still too weak to take the guardian on back there. Had Mephiles remained to 'finish the job', Knuckles could've easily dispatched him right then and there. It was true that Amy wasn't going to turn into anything because she was bitten by a demon. However the venom Mephiles injected into her body would put Amy under his control. She would be compelled to follow his every command whenever Mephiles called out to her.

That would be, if Knuckles hadn't purified most of the venom. Something that Mephiles sensed as he quietly approached the sleeping female. No wonder she was able to resist him that easily. Quite impressive actually. Mephiles stood there and watched her while she slept. Injecting more venom into her might kill her. He was just going to have to make the most of it.

Mephiles slowly approached the bed in which Amy slumbered upon. To him, she looked so innocent and fragile. He sat down carefully on the bed so as not to wake her. Mephiles stared at the young flower observing her form rising and falling in the various paces of slow, steady breathing. Mephiles was planning to do something, but now, he seemed content with just watching Amy sleep. He carefully and gently stroked her cherry-pink bangs. She emitted a little moan, but did not stir.

-

Knuckles was on his way back to Tails' Workshop alone when he was accosted by Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Hey there, Knux!" he greeted. "What's up?"

"Amy got attacked by something in Mystic Ruins." Knuckles told him.

Sonic made a shocked and then concerned look.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

"I think she'll be okay. She's at Tails' workshop."

"That sounds good."

"So uh, how's your 'friend'?"

Sonic gave a blank expression.

"What friend? You mean Tails?" he asked.

"How about, 'lady friend'?" Knuckles implied.

Then the male hedgehog realized.

"Ohhhh...you mean Sally." Sonic droned. "Naw, she's just an old friend of mine. She's like a sister to me. Nothing...intimate or anything."

"Uh-huh." Knuckles scoffed.

"I'm serious!"

They finally made it to the workshop and Tails let them in. When they entered the computer room, Knuckles suddenly stopped dead, catching the attention of both Sonic and Tails.

"What is it, Knux?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles' violet eyes were widened and his nose twitched.

"There's...there's something here." he rasped.

The ruby guardian dodged forward to the door to the hallway. Only to find it sealed shut.

"Why is this locked?" Knuckles exclaimed.

"I don't know," Tails cried. "I didn't lock it, I swear!"

Knuckles bust open the door and rushed into the hall, where he felt massively dark energy. The same energy from Mystic Ruins.

And it was coming from Amy's room.


	7. Chapter 7

-Chapter 7-

Mephiles continued to affectionately watch Amy peacefully sleep when he suddenly sensed Knuckles in the building. Damn the luck. The demon would have to leave quickly before the crimson echidna's senses picked up his aura. When Mephiles heard the hallway door being forced open, he knew that he had to make his exit now. Just as Knuckles barely got into Amy's room, Mephiles teleported away with a smug expression.

"Crap!" Knuckles shouted.

This awoke Amy from her slumber with a jolt.

"Wha-What's going on?" she cried.

There was a silence for a brief moment before Knuckles finally answered her.

"Nothing, Amy." he said lowly. "It's looks like everything is alright."

Though he tried to sound sincere, Knuckles didn't sound so sure himself. He needed to think about what had happened. And at the same time, keep a close eye on Amy.

"Go back to sleep, Amy." Knuckles told the female. "Everything seems to be in order."

The trio was about to leave Amy in peace before she decided to call out to Knuckles.

"Hey Knuckles? Can I talk to you for a sec?"

The crimson furred guardian remained behind to listen to what she had to say.

"First," she began. "I don't want you to think I'm crazy or anything..."

Knuckles' eyes narrowed.

"What is it, Amy?" he question.

The female hedgehog took a deep breath.

"Is it normal to hear voices?" Amy asked.

"What do you mean?" Knuckles replied.

"Well, while I was asleep, and when you were at the G.U.N. HQ, I heard his voice in head."

"You mean, Mephiles."

"Yeah. And only I was hearing him, because I asked Tails and he said he didn't hear anything."

There was a silence as Knuckles registered what Amy told him. It certainly wasn't a good thing that she was hearing HIS voice in her mind. Amy on the other hand was worried that now they would look at her as a looney person that now they would look at her as a looney person that needed to be committed to a mental ward.

"You don't think I'm nuts do you?" Amy timidly asked.

"No I don't." Knuckles said honestly. "It can't be a good thing if you're hearing his voice, but it doesn't mean you're nuts."

'Well THAT makes feel better.'

Amy buried her face between her knees and made a groan. Knuckles quietly got up and left. His place was taken by Sonic.

"Hey, Amy." the blue hedgehog greeted.

When she noticed him, Amy gave a scowl.

"Hello, Sonic." she said in a low voice.

Amy flopped down on the bed and turned away from the male speedster.

"I understand that you got into a spill in Mystic Ruins." Sonic said.

"...Yeah." Amy droned.

"Everything okay?"

"Yes,...everything's just dandy."

The pink female pulled the sheet over her head. Clearly, she was still quite miffed from seeing Sonic earlier with another girl. Sonic on the other hand, was completely oblivious to her emotions.

"Well, if you need anything, just give me a shout." he told her.

With that he left Amy in peace.

-

"Just how did that son of a bitch get in here?" Knuckles growled.

"Beats me." Tails said. "I didn't even notice that guy coming in. And the alarm didn't go off."

That was another thing. How on earth did Mephiles managed to get into the workshop without tripping any of the alarms? It was quite strange. Sonic came into the computer room.

"So, what's up?" he said.

"Sonic, where's Amy?" Knuckles asked in a concerned tone.

"Right where you left her."

"Go back over there and keep an eye on her."

"Why? Shouldn't we give her some privacy?"

"After what just happened, I don't want her by herself."

"Well, okay."

Sonic went back into the hall while Knuckles and Tails continued to analyze the situation. Then there was a knock at the door and kitsune went to answer it. Rouge was standing on the porch.

"Oh, hi Rouge." Tails greeted. "Whaddya doing here?"

"Well, this whole 'Mephiles' thing got me interested, so I thought I join in." Rouge replied.

The ivory bat followed the young fox into the computer room. Knuckles wasn't too thrilled to see her, but ignored her presence anyway.

"Where's Shadow?" Tails asked.

"Well, he took off to Mystic Ruins." Rouge explained.

That caught Knuckles' interest.

"Has he found anything?" he asked.

"Not that I know of." Rouge replied. "Or if he has, he hasn't called me about it."

"Why?" What's got him worked up?" Sonic called out from the hall. He apparently overheard the conversation.

"Well, from what Knuckles told me," Rouge said. "this 'Mephiles' character, looks like Shadow. Which is obviously why he's taking this rather personally."

There was a silence that settled upon the group as each individual became deep in thought.


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter 8-

The Ultimate Lifeform walked through the lush jungles of Mystic Ruins. His mind running with many thoughts. Something that would completely stress out the average individual. Who was this 'Mephiles'? And why on earth did he take Shadow's form? The charcoal furred hedgehog certainly didn't remember meeting anyone by that name. And he was pretty sure that his creator, Dr. Gerald Robotnik didn't make another Ultimate Lifeform.

As he toured the jungle, Shadow could feel that he was getting close to the Master Emerald. Soon enough, he came to the very spot where Mephiles bit Amy. His fur ruffled when he felt a slight trace of dark energy. Leaning down, Shadow picked up a strand of grey fur.

"He was here." Shadow said to himself.

The question was, where was he now?

It could be worth Shadow's while to keep the strand and have Rouge analyze it, so he did. There was nothing more that he could do here. It was very likely that Mephiles would be constantly on the move and wouldn't be in one place for very long. With that in mind, Shadow took his leave from the jungles of Mystic Ruins.

-

Mephiles was still in Station Square. He perched atop a building that was adjacent to Tails' Workshop. Brooding over being chased away by Knuckles, the demon contemplated on what to do next. He could go out and create a hideout and rejuvenate the rest of his powers and energy, but he seemed more fixated on Amy Rose. Mephiles wanted to be sure that his influence over the young flower did not get cut off. He needed to somehow get her out of the building without the others interfering. Perhaps he can control Amy enough to have her come to him. After going through some calculation, he decided to go with the plan. He flew towards a secluded area and reached to Amy.

-

Amy couldn't believe it. How Sonic be that ignorant. How could he be so blind? He actually stood there thinking everything was all peachy keen. Amy had never been so furious nor so annoyed in all her life. She just wanted to scream in frustration. The sakura hedgehog had to wonder just what about this other girl that made sonic tick. She had not been there all those time they had to save the entire planet from the likes of Eggman. And certainly not all the times where Amy stood up for Sonic.

The calamity of it all made Amy so upset, that she finally buried her face in the pillow and began to cry. But the young flower had unknowingly made herself an easy target for an unseen force that was going through Tails' Workshop. Amy suddenly heard Mephiles' voice again.

'...Amy.'

She gasped and shot her head up and looked around. No one but her was in the room.

'..Amy.'

The cherry-pink hedgehog buried herself in the bed and tried ignored the voice.

'.Amy.'

'Shut up!'

'That's not a very nice greeting Amy.'

'I don't care! Go away!'

Amy refused to move and listen to the voice.

'...Amy, come to me.'

'...No.'

'Why not?'

'...Because. Please, leave me alone!'

'Don't be afraid, Amy. No harm will befall you.'

'I've heard that one before...'

'Oh come now, my dear'

Another minute of dead silence.

'Aaaaammyyyyyyyy.'

Poor Amy was finding it increasingly difficult to resist the voice.

'What?'

'...come to me.'

'...o...okay.'

-

Amy slowly got out of bed, but gave a paused after hearing the voice again.

'...Amy, wait a moment...'

Sonic was still in the hall watching the sakura female. His face sort of lit up when he saw her get up. The suddenly, he heard a crashing noise coming from his right.

"What the heck was that?" he said to himself.

As he sped off to go and inspect what caused the noise, Amy heard the voice again.

'...alright now, Amy. But quickly...'

At a somewhat quick pace, Amy exited the room and went down the hall as though she were being controlled like a puppet. Mephiles told what directions to take. Right, left, north, south, until she finally came to the back door. Amy opened the door and went outside, still in her hospital dress. Mephiles was standing there waiting for her giving an almost triumphant look as the door closed behind her.

"There you are." Mephiles sneered in glee.

Amy was still partly under his control. When he approached her, she suddenly was able to break away.

"NOO-"

"Shhhhh." Mephiles whispered, coiling the young flower with one arm and covering her mouth with the other. "Just relax my dear."

Amy tried to struggle out of his arms, but like in Mystic Ruins, he had an iron grip. In almost no time at all, she grew tired from fighting. The spider had caught the fly. Mephiles promptly bit the cleft of her neck again, this time using his lower fangs instead of his upper ones. He released a serum to spread the venom already in Amy throughout her body. Poor Amy let out a little scream upon impact. Her bofy went limp and she started to feel really.

'I like the dress you have on.' Mephiles told her telepathically. 'It's really...revealing.'

Amy let out a little moan. She tried really hard to stay awake. But pretty soon, the sakura female started to black out.


	9. Chapter 9

-Chapter 9-

The crashing sound Sonic heard was also heard by Knuckles, Tails, and Rouge. They all rushed out to investigate. It turned out to be a fallen cupboard filled with spare plane parts.

"My stuff..." Tails whined.

"What on earth happened here?" Rouge inquired.

"Looks like someone ran into it." Sonic pointed out.

The other three gave rather accusing looks at the cerulean hedgehog, to which he flinched at.

"Hey, don't look at me." he protested. "I was watchin' Amy."

"How is she by the way?" Rouge asked.

"Seemed okay to me. She was about to get up. I should probably go check on her real quick."

With that, he took off. Rouge's communicator suddenly beeped twice, prompting her to answer it.

"Yes?" she said. "Okay...I'll be right there."

The ivory bat then turned to Knuckles and Tails.

"I'm going back to G.U.N. HQ." she told them. "It looks like Shadow found something in Mystic Ruins."

-

Sonic zipped back down the hall expecting to see Amy up and about. Only to find the room completely empty.

"Amy?" Sonic called out. "Amy!"

There was no reply. The male hedgehog began looking around. His search turned up fruitless.

'Where the hack is she?' he thought.

He went around the Workshop in search of the missing sakura hedgehog. Sonic's ear twitched when there was a faint sound of a door closing. Following the sound, Sonic came to the back door. He opened it and poked his head out. Pretty soon, the blue male was rushing outdoors. He had found an unconscious Amy lying on the ground alone.

"Amy!" Sonic cried.

He picked her up off the ground. Observing her neck, the spot where she had been bitten had more of a purple shade than before. Sonic shook her gently to awaken the female.

"Amy! C'mon, wake up." he said.

After a few minutes, Amy started stirring. However waking was proving to be quite difficult.

'I better get her inside.' Sonic thought.

Carrying her bridal style, the speedster rushed Amy into the workshop and called Knuckles and Tails over to his location.

"What the hell happened?" Knuckles cried.

"I went looking for Amy after I saw she wasn't in her room." Sonic explained. "I found her outside."

'...Crap.' Knuckles mentally cursed.

"Ohhhhh..."

Amy was beginning to regain some of her consciousness. Her eyesight was all blurred and she looked around in a daze.

"What...just...happened?" Amy droned.

"I found you passed out outside." Sonic told her softly.

"...Again?"

"Okay, that's it!" Knuckles snorted. "Nobody leave Amy by herself! Not for a minute, got it?"

Tails and Sonic gave surprised nods. Soon, the cerulean speedster noticed that Rouge was no longer present.

"Hey, where did Rouge go?" Sonic asked.

"She went back to G.U.N. HQ." Knuckles explained.

-

At the G.U.N HQ, Rouge walked into the lab area where Shadow was waiting for her.

"So, what did you find?" she asked.

"This." Shadow replied, holding a Petri dish with the strand of fur he found earlier. "I want you to analyze it."

"Okay then."

The ivory bat took the dish and worked it with the machinery.

"You might wanna to get something to read." she told the ebony hedgehog. "This will take awhile."

Shadow growled. He hated having to wait. Instead of 'reading something', he decided to head into the Archives and Library to see if he could find anything on Mephiles. Unfortunately for the crimson-splashed hedgehog, his search turned up empty. Even the computers didn't have a single file on the demon at all. Nothing.

'Damn.' Shadow mentally cursed.

Finally, after hours of grueling patience, Rouge called Shadow into the lab. Instead of merely walking there, he teleported. Rouge then showed him what was on the computer screen.

"Basically, this 'Mephiles' person, had relatively the same DNA composition as you." the female bat explained. "But there are some differences that stick out like a sore thumb."

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?" he asked.

"Well for one thing," Rouge replied. "Mephiles' anatomy is vastly different than yours. Here's what he might look like."

She brought up a window that showed Shadow's profile. Then she pressed a key and the color of his fur, eyes, and attire were changed. Shadow narrowed his blood-red orbs. So this was the imbecile who dared masqueraded as him.

"The only problem is locating him." Rouge concluded.

Shadow nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps we can enlist the Guardian to assist us." he added.

Rouge gave a smirk. She certainly didn't mind having Knuckles around.

-

Flying victoriously through the night sky, was Mephiles. Now having control over Amy secured, he can now freely focus on creating a hide out. And he just knew where to make one...


	10. Chapter 10

-Chapter 10-

The citizens of Soleanna went about their merry way not noticing that a demon was among them. Again. Of course they did not recall the Incident that occurred in their city, but the legacy remained. In a somewhat nostalgic way.

Mephiles flew into the forests of Kingdom Valley silent as a ghost stalking about the night. He found a decent looking cave inside a rock clad mountain that rested beside the ruins of the old castle. Inside the cave, the demon melted into his pool of evil energy and evaporated into the rock. Almost immediately, the walls of the cave began to glow purple and light blue. Giant crystals came crashing through stone and rock. Emerging from where he vanished, Mephiles, now in his demonic form, gave an eerie laugh as more crystals suddenly appeared.

"MRRWAA HA HAA HAA HAAA HAAAAAAAAA!"

Within a week, nearly the entire mountain was engulfed with a crystalline landscape. As his power and energy grew, Mephiles was able to erect a barrier preventing anyone from finding his fortress.

-

The past week was grueling and boring for Amy. Grueling because her neck was painfully sore. Boring because she was constantly babysat by the three boys at Knuckles' behest. It wasn't like Amy couldn't take care of herself. She had vowed that next time that creep tried to attack her again, she'd pound the living daylights outta him with her Piko-Piko Hammer. That is, if there was a next time. Throughout the past week, she hadn't seen or heard from Mephiles since then. Perhaps it could be safe to say that he probably moved on. Knuckles on the other hand, wasn't so convinced. With him, it could take a whole damn century to convince him for anything.

Another thing that constantly bothered Amy, was the presence of Sonic the Hedgehog. All that time she tried avoiding him. She'd rather be babysat by either Knuckles or Tails. Curious thing was that Sonic didn't seem to display that kind of behavior he was showing off earlier that week. But Amy didn't care. As far as she was concerned she was done with him. Thinking about it made the sakura hedgehog feel sad. What made it even worse, was that Sonic seemed to actually show genuine concern for Amy's welfare. Why should he if he already has a girlfriend?

-

Knuckles was watching Amy like a hawk. He made sure that he didn't allow himself, Tails, or Sonic to let Amy leave their sights. The crimson furred echidna didn't seem to sense the presence of the demon thus far. But he wouldn't let his guard down. Mephiles was bound to turn up somewhere. The question was when? His thoughts were interrupted when the sound of a motorcycle disturbed the quiet. It was Shadow riding his bike with Rouge behinds. Knuckles remained unflinched, standing tall with his arms folded.

"Hey there." Rouge greeted.

"What did you guys find?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, we're still sort of on the male echidna a print-out of Shadow's profile with the color changes. Knuckles eyed it carefully to memorize it.

"It's just how Amy described him." he remarked.

"Just what kind of interest does have in her?" Shadow inquired.

"I have a hunch," Knuckles replied. "a hunch that I'm hoping I'm wrong. But other than that I'm not sure what."

"What's the hunch?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles' face contorted. He still didn't feel comfortable with the subject.

"Well...the bite mark on Amy's neck is something of a...courting mark." the Guardian explained grudgingly.

Rouge's aqua eyes widened and she made a face.

"Oh well, that explains it." she remarked coyly.

-

Back in Soleanna, Mephiles was getting quite comfortable in his new home. And quite bored. The only reason he was there to begin with was to rejuvenate the rest if his powers and energy. But all the wait was making Mephiles restless. He finally decided to entertain himself by seeing what his little flower was up to. The demon brought up a huge crystal from the ground of which he sat upon. The reflection in front of him showed Amy Rose in Station Square Park. Mephiles watched her as she read from a book. He also saw her trying to avoid Sonic's presence each time the blue hedgehog attempting to join her side. This caused the demon to let out a deep chuckle.

'That little boy doesn't know when to quit.' he thought.

Mephiles also thought it rude of Sonic to keep on pestering Amy. Speaking of the sakura hedgehog, Mephiles was feeling rather lonesome without her. He had regained enough power to take on Knuckles if he the echidna decided to oppose him, so it wouldn't hurt to pay Amy a visit. Then Mephiles conceived another idea. Eventually he would have to resurrect Iblis. He could keep the Guardian off his tail by having him deal with Iblis' minions. With them deterring Knuckles, Mephiles would be able to stash his 'new companion' in a special place of which no one locate. No one but him.

Cracking his knuckles, Mephiles melted into his energy puddle and disappeared. He nest appeared in a tree. Above where Amy was sitting, reading her book and deeply immersed into the printed page. Knuckles was preoccupied with Rouge and Shadow. Mephiles found it rather amusing to see the Ultimate Lifeform here. But his main interest was Amy.

She looked up and saw Sonic and Tails were headed in her direction. Wanting to avoid talking the cerulean speedster, Amy got up and began walking away. She didn't go too far because she didn't want to hear another lecture from Knuckles. After a week of being treated like a five-year-old the young female had enough of being ordered to get where Knuckles, Tails, or Sonic could see her. The only good thing that happened in the past week, was receiving a post card from Cream saying that she and Vanilla were coming back really soon.

-

As Amy went about the Station Square Park looking for someplace peaceful to read. She was closely being followed by Mephiles. He was wise enough to use stealth since Knuckles and Shadow were out looking for him. The demon stalked the cherry-pink girl with every move she made. After watching her for a short while and seeing that Shadow and Knuckles were still discussing their plans of action, Mephiles concluded that perhaps it was a little too soon to take his companion him with him as he wished. Not while the Guardian and the Ultimate Lifeform were together in the same area. The demon would have to thoroughly plan out a convincing diversion.

But in the meantime, there was nothing against spending some 'alone time' with her...


	11. Chapter 11

-Chapter 11-

Amy finally found a nice spot to read her book. It was a pleasantly quiet and allowed her some peace from all the things that were bothering her before. She sat against the trunk of a tree and resumed to her story. Unbeknownst to her, Mephiles was watching her. She didn't even hear him climb down the tree above her. He sat down silently beside her, glancing at the printed page Amy had her jade eyes on. A full minute passed before anything happened. Mephiles finally decided to break the silence and get the fun and games started. He carefully leaned over to the sakura female.

"Whatcha reading?" Mephiles whispered in Amy's ear in a sickly sweet and playful tone.

Amy jumped and nearly screamed when she suddenly heard his voice. Before she could let out a cry, the demon quickly swiped his hand over her mouth. But that didn't stop Amy from giving out a muffled scream. Mephiles sat her in his lap and coiled an arm around her form.

"This screaming really doesn't become you, my little flower." Mephiles said coyly.

Amy struggled to reach for her hammer, but blast the luck, Mephiles had a hold on her arms rendering her unable to reach it. She tried elbowing him but it didn't work. He was constricting Amy like a boa. Finally, after a few minutes she finally gave up feeling quite exhausted from the effort.

"There, that's better." Mephiles cooed.

Amy let out growl. She shot a nasty glare at him.

"Now then, if you'll promise to stop making so much noise," Mephiles continued. "I'll remove my hand from your lovely face."

Amy was silent for a very long minute before eventually nodding in agreement. Mephiles took his hand away while the cherry-pink hedgehog pouted.

"What the hell do you want?" Amy demanded.

"My, what colorful language you have." Mephiles commented.

Amy made another growl.

"Oh alright if you insist." the demon mewed. "Though I already told you, I'm in need of a companion."

Amy's eyes widened and she shivered, remembering the incident in Mystic Ruins. More chills ran up her spine when Mephiles began nuzzling underneath her chin. Then he licked her neck and the bite mark, causing Amy's body started to go ecstatic with shivers and electrical heat. Amy began breathing in short gasp and her hand was spinning. She was getting quite dizzy and flabbergasted. She tried fighting whatever influence was coming over her, but it was useless. Seeing Amy physically unable to fight him, Mephiles pulled her into a kiss.

The kiss just made the mesmerized Amy even worse. She felt as if she were about to black out again. The young female struggled to get ahold of herself. She was finally able to push the demon away and smack him. Mephiles wasn't fazed however and shook off the simple attack. Amy also managed to break free of his grasp. Even though he intentionally let her.

"YOU JERK!" Amy screamed.

She pulled out her hammer and began aimlessly swerving at Mephiles. The demon easily dodged her attacks with no effort at all. He lunged forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then suddenly vanishing. Amy let out a cry of fury.

'I'll be seeing you again. my little flower.' Mephiles told her telepathically. 'Tonight that is...'

The sakura hedgehog's cries were heard by Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow.

"Amy, what happened?" Sonic asked.

Amy looked down at her feet, feeling like a total fool.

"N-nothin'. I'm alright." Amy muttered.

-

Later that day, Shadow had gone on his way to gather whatever more information he could find on Mephiles, more particularly his location. Rouge remained behind to talk a little more with Knuckles.

"I think you should ease up on the whole babysitting Amy thing." the ivory bat told the Guardian. "It looks like she's about to lose her nerve."

Knuckles let out a low growl. He didn't like being told what to do. But even had to admit that since Mephiles hadn't shown up for a week, he should give Amy some leverage. And space.

"...Fine." Knuckles grumbled. "But I still don't want her by herself. It just seems that each time we leave Amy on her own, this Mephiles appears."

"Well if you put it that way," Rouge replied. "it gives the perfect situation for a trap."

That caught Knuckles' attention.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Maybe we could use Amy as bait to lure Mephiles into a trap." Rouge suggested.

"I don't like the sound of that, Rouge. I don't wanna put Amy in danger."

"In danger of what?"

Sonic and Tails came into the room of which the female bat and the male echidna were in.

"Rouge has a crazy idea for using Amy as bait to trap Mephiles." Knuckles told them.

"Actually...that doesn't sound half bad." Sonic replied.

"What?" Knuckles cried in disbelief.

"Well on the flip side," Sonic continued. "we can make sure Amy doesn't get seriously hurt or anything."

"Yeah, we can make sure she stays safe." Tails added.

After a few minutes of thought, Knuckles finally agreed to it.

"Alright fine." he said. "But we have to be absolutely sure that nothing happens to her."

The other three exchanged nods.

-

The sun finally went down for the night, prompting the moon to follow its course, accompanied by millions of stars. Amy, to her relief, was allowed to go back to her house. She was however monitored by stealthy surveillance system installed by Tails. It was so stealthy, that even Amy herself didn't notice that it was there.

She went to bed, exhausted by the day's events and having to be closely watched by the guys. The young female certainly wanted to put the 'Mephiles' thing in the back of her mind. She put on a magenta colored night-gown and crawled into her mattress. Amy let out a sigh of sweet relief after feeling her muscles relax. She instantly fell asleep and unconsciously pulled her mantle over her cherry-pink form. An hour later, a dark shadow materialized and fell on her.


	12. Chapter 12

-Chapter 12-

Amy was sound asleep in her bed as the night wore on. Unaware that she was being stalked by a shadowy figure. This figure was of course, Mephiles. Keeping to his promise he made earlier, the demon entered the young flower's home and fully aware that he was being watched. He used his powers to make all the surveillance equipment around him to shut down. Then the demon directed his attention to the sleeping pink hedgehog.

Amy's body slowly rose and fell as she breathed shallowly. Mephiles approached her bed and gently sat down beside her. He loved seeing Amy like this. She still looked so peaceful, innocent, and fragile. Mephiles brushed her bangs and quills with his fingers. Amy's ears twitched a little, and she let out a small moan. Then the demon laid over her in a diagonal position with his face close to hers.

'The moonlight makes her look even more lovely.' Mephiles thought.

Soon, Amy was disturbed by the added weight on her form and fluttered her eyes open. In a split second, she was about to scream, and Mephiles pinned her to her bed and forced her into a liplock. Amy struggled like a wild animal trapped in a cage to get him off of her, but it was useless. Mephiles excellently held his ground while holding her down. Amy still tried to drive the demon away, but without any success.

'Stop fighting.' Mephiles whispered telepathically.

With all the pressure and weight put on the female hedgehog, it began to hurt. She started to cry.

'Please...please leave me alone!' Amy thought desperately.

'Shhhh, it's alright little one, just stop fighting me.'

Amy gave out a muffled sniffle. The demon finally released her from the liplock and the young flower gasped for air. While Amy was taking in much needed oxygen, Mephiles nuzzled into the cleft of her neck causing her body to shiver. Poor Amy was terribly exhausted.

"Go...away...please.." she rasped.

"Hmmmm, I don't think so." Mephiles smugly replied.

Amy let out a whine and tried to get the demon off her again. But being very tired, she couldn't. If she didn't have a demonic hedgehog on top of her, she'd go right back to sleep. However, Amy was having a difficult time keeping herself awake.

"Why, whatever is the matter my sweet?" Mephiles asked. "You don't look so well."

Amy threw him one nasty look.

'Damn you, go away so I can freaking sleep!'

"Then sleep." Mephiles said, reading her mind.

"I'm not doing that while YOU'RE here." Amy ranted.

Mephiles let out a chuckle.

"You needn't worry little one." he cooed.

Amy let out another whine. Clearly this guy was not going to leave. Then, Mephiles licked the mark on her neck, making Amy go into another spasm of shivers. Before she knew it, the female was starting to get in heat.

'Wha...What's...happening to me?' Amy cried mentally.

"Simple. Your body is just reacting to me." Mephiles told her quietly. "It desires my touch."

Amy felt disgusted.

'Freaking Pervert!'

Mephiles in response, bit her causing her to give out a cry. Her whole body felt like it was set on fire. She let out heavy moans and writhed under Mephiles. The demon let out dark giggles while watching the young female throw a fit.

"Please...sssstoooop." Amy rasped.

Mephiles nuzzled under her chin and started purring. Amy couldn't handle it anymore. She finally closed her eyes and fell in a deep slumber.

-

When Amy next woke up, Mephiles was gone and she tangled in her sheets. She rubbed her forehead and found that sweat had formed there.

"Eeeew..." the sakura hedgehog whined.

Amy looked around and saw it was morning. She blinked in confusion and then rubbed her eyes. She couldn't remember what had happened the night before. Amy slowly crawled out of bed and wobbled to the bathroom. She almost screamed at what she saw in the mirror. Amy looked like hell. Her quills and fur were a complete mess, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

'Crap.' she muttered in her mind.

Not only that, but her neck was really sore. Amy let out a pained groan while tilting her head from side to side.

'Maybe I should work out today.' she thought.

-

The sun began to rise high that morning and the air was filled with songs and chirps heralded by flickies and other birds in the trees. Out for a morning run was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. The leaves fallen from the trees fluttered behind him as he whipped through the street. The cerulean hedgehog came to a halt once he reached Tails' Workshop. The kitsune was out on the porch, feeling the plants.

"Morning, Tails!" Sonic greeted.

"Morning, Sonic." Tails replied.

"So, did anything happen at Amy's place?"

Tails made a face.

"Well, not really." he said. "Something happened to the equipment during the night."

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

"It suddenly turned off by itself."

"A malfunction maybe?"

"Probably. I'll have to look at the equipment when Amy comes over."

Sonic scratched his chin. It sounded really strange. Plus, he had to wonder if Amy herself was alright. One that thought got into the blue blur's mind it got stuck there. And after a minute or two, he sped off to her house.


	13. Chapter 13

-Chapter 13-

Steam emitted out of the bathroom as Amy stepped out of the shower. She gave out a sigh of relief, feeling quite refreshed. Amy slipped on an outfit and was about to put on her boots when the doorbell went off.

'I wonder who that could be.' the cherry-pink hedgehog thought.

She walked to her front door and found Sonic the Hedgehog at her porch. It caught her completely by surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Amy asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Sonic replied, feeling a little insulted. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Now it was Amy's turn to frown.

"Why?" she asked again.

"Well, because the surveillance system went out last night and I got worried." Sonic said.

Amy blinked.

"What surveillance system?" she inquired.

Crap. Sonic wasn't supposed to tell her that Tails put a surveillance system in her house.

"Ummm...i-it's nothing, Amy." he coughed out. "Look, bottom line, I wanted to be sure you were okay."

Amy frowned again. Just what the hell was he getting at? Doesn't he have a freaking girlfriend to worry about instead of her? Was it because she got hurt, that he now expressed concern for the pink hedgehog?

"I'm alright, Sonic." Amy told him, turning her head away. "You don't need to worry about me."

She was about to return into her house when Sonic grabbed ahold of her wrist.

"Wait a minute, Amy." he said sternly. "Why are you acting so weird towards me?"

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"Don't play dumb, Amy. Lately you've been avoiding me."

"Well, YOU'RE always running away from me."

Now it was Sonic's turn to be silent. He blushed a little and nervously scratched the back of his head.

"W-well, that was...before." the cerulean male stammered.

'So every time I get seriously hurt will be the only time you'll actually care about me.' Amy remarked mentally.

The pair had a brief moment of silence before the sakura hedgehog broke it.

"Look, Sonic. Thanks but no thanks." she said.

Amy went back inside, leaving Sonic alone on the porch.

Mephiles was up and about. It was now time to get down to business. The demon was going to resurrect his lost brother, Iblis. But only partly. His counterpart was already half dead, so there was no hope of ever becoming Solaris again. It wouldn't hurt to take over what was left of Iblis' powers, however. Having the lava beast's powers would surely help in getting rid of a few imbeciles.

Mephiles flew east, looking for the spot where he came out from the ground. Surely it was where he would be able to find the remains of Iblis. Mephiles transformed into his crystalline demonic form and used huge crystals to rip open the earth below him. Lava spewed and spluttered from the surrounding crust incinerating everything around it.

Mephiles emitted his powerful aura over the molten puddle. Instantly, the pit gave out a gurgled growl. Mephiles beamed with delight, having found what was left of his counterpart. The demon used one of his claws to cut open his right arm. Purple goo trickled from the limb and dripped into the pool of lava. The lava instantaneously turned a deep purple. If Mephiles had a mouth in his demonic from it would be grinning.

"Rise." the demon boomed.

The mantle snaked out of the pit and surrounded Mephiles' form, completely covering him. Moments later, the magma hardened into solid rock. Next, the lump of rock glew purple and bluish grey until exploded. Hovering from where he previously stood, Mephiles was not only surrounded by his own powerful aura, but also the aura of Iblis, with purple flames. If Iblis was still alive and at full power, Mephiles would have become Solaris right then and there. With the help of Chaos Emeralds of course. But even so, the emeralds would not be needed for the demon was considerably unstoppable. Mephiles gazed up into the sky, now darkening with storm clouds. Everything was working out so perfectly and no one knew. Victory would be assured, however, Mephiles still had to be careful. Or things might turn out like they did before.

Still, Mephiles couldn't help but feel the thrill of glory. He let out a piercing laugh feeling himself become more powerful by the second.

Sonic did not leave Amy's house even when she turned away from him earlier. He slowly went indoors after her, thinking of what else to say to her. The blue hedgehog still could not understand why she was behaving this way. Sonic hung out in the living room, thing and attempting to see if he could locate any of Tails' mini cams.

'Damn, he hid those suckers pretty well. I'm impressed.' he thought.

Amy came into her living room from the hall and was displeased to find the cerulean speedster still in her household.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked gruffly.

Sonic looked at her and noticed how worn out she looked.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Hey! I asked first!" Amy interjected.

"Just answer me. You look tired."

"I...I didn't get much sleep last night I guess."

The blue blur approached the young flower with concern written all over his face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again.

"Y-yes, I am. I'm fine...just what are you getting at?" Amy cried.

"I'm just worried about you. Is that a crime?"

Amy wanted to say something but stopped. She didn't want to bring up the incident of which she saw Sonic with that other girl. All Amy did, was stare at the floor. Sonic was still waiting for an answer.

"Well?" he said.

"N-nothing. It's nothing." Amy muttered. "Look, will you stop pestering me?"

Sonic let out a sigh. What was wrong with her?


	14. Chapter 14

-Chapter 14-

Knuckles didn't like what was in the air. It was deep and somewhat menacing. Adding to that was the sudden change to the weather as it got stormy. Something was up, the ruby echidna could feel it. He had to find this Mephiles fast and put him into the ground. Shadow also felt the menacing change in the environment. He had been searching for Mephiles nonstop but much to his frustration the search came up fruitless.

This Mephiles was one sneaky and tricky basterd. A while ago, Shadow was starting to doubt Amy Rose's story because the lack of Mephiles' presence, but after finding evidence of the demon being around the ultimate lifeform was inclined to believe her. Rouge did research on the demon with whatever information she could find. Information that was about either a paragraph or a sentence long.

It was really hard trying to find a person who remained unseen and largely unknown.

Tails went over to Amy's house to collect the surveillance equipment. It took him an hour retrieve any information out of it. The mini cams were much harder to work with because they were so small and delicate. He was able to get footage out of one and reviewed it.

The video feed showed Amy's room. Tails was unsure if he should've put one there. An ultimate invasion of privacy and still the kitsune wondered if he should even be watching this. But, of course, this was after all for the sake of Amy's safety. Almost two hours into the footage, Amy had gone to bed and was peacefully asleep. Suddenly the video feed froze and went to black. That was weird. Tails rewinded it and played it again, watching with a very keen eye. One thing he noticed before the footage blacked out, was a dark shade descending upon the floor of Amy's bedroom. Someone or something definately in there and whoever or whatever it was, made the equipment blink out somehow.

"I better show this to the guys." Tails said to himself.

Amy sat in the warm grass at Station Square practicing some Yoga while Sonic watched her from afar. Amy was aware that the male hedgehog was watching her, but she didn't care. In fact the sakura hedgehog was deep in thought about the matter.

'Maybe, I'm wrong about Sonic.' she thought. 'Maybe that was just another friend he was hugging. He hasn't said anything about since, plus he hasn't left me alone either.'

The clouds became darker as they became heavier with rain and electricity.

'Or maybe he's trying to let me down easy.' Amy continued mentally.

Sonic continued to watch her. He was also taking notice of the changing weather.

'We better clear outta hear before this storm blows.' he thought.

Amy continued to meditate even when the weather was about to turn sour. It seemed to match her mood again. A slight breeze made her shiver slightly. Perhaps it was time to get indoors. Suddenly the young female heard something that really made her shiver.

'Amy, my dear...'

It was Him again. Just what the hell did he want this time?

'Amy...?'

'Go away!'

'You're being impolite again, little one.'

'I don't care. GO AWAY!'

Sonic noticed Amy making disturbed expressions on face. He walked over to her and knelt beside her.

"Hey, you okay?" Sonic asked.

Amy jumped when she felt him touch her shoulder. She relaxed when she saw that it was only Sonic.

"Wha...huh?" Amy sputtered.

"I said, 'are you alright'?" Sonic replied.

"I'm...I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You weirded out a little for a minute there."

"Yes, Sonic. I'm fine."

Sonic let out a sigh. He took her hand and stood up.

"Come on." Sonic told her. "Let's get inside before this storm goes off."

Amy reluctantly allowed the speedster to take her home.

Meanwhile, Tails had called Knuckles about his discovery. Knuckles happened to be talking to Rouge when he received the call and contacted Shadow. All three of them headed over to Tails' Workshop. When they got there, the saffron fox should them the video feed of Amy's room.

"I don't get it." Knuckles said after the first viewing. "What are we looking at?"

"Look towards the window." Tails directed.

He played the feed again, this time everyone casting their gazes on Amy's bedroom window. They blinked before the footage went to black.

"What the hell was that?" Knuckles cried.

"I have no idea." Tails replied. "But whatever it was it must have disrupted the other cameras because they all died out too."

"If this was Mephiles," Shadow pointed. "it means he had the power to disrupt electrical currents."

"Quite possible." Tails agreed.

"What about Amy?" Rouge asked. "Did she say anything about unusual things happening?"

"Nope." Tails replied. "Plus Sonic's been with her all day and he hadn't called me about Amy describing anything strange."

There was a moment of silence.

"Perhaps we should question her ourselves." Shadow suggested.

The rest of the group agreed.


	15. Chapter 15

-Chapter 15-

Mephiles, with all the added power that he gained from absorbing Iblis, expanded his hide out. Now the giant crystals were starting to form on the old castle. After thinking about planning his next move, the demon thought it would certainly worth his while to build an extra hid-out. Just to throw some imbeciles off his trial if he needed to. But where to put one? Mephiles then decided that it would be excellent placing it in Mystic Ruins. Since people seemed to keep attempting to locate him there, the area would play as the perfect decoy.

Mephiles then headed back to Mystic Ruins with much speed. Upon arrival, his grey fur bristled at the feel of an energetic aura. He recognized that aura. It was the Master Emerald. The demon almost forgot about that wretched thing. That would mean he'd have to plant his decoy hive a little farther away than originally planned.

-

Amy and Sonic headed back to the sakura hedgehog's home just as the rain began to fall. Amy was having a hard time trying to think straight. She kept hearing Mephiles' voice and seeing strange images. Why the hell was this happening? Sonic certainly noticed her behavior.

"Amy?" he called out.

The young flower shot her head up towards the blue blur who called her attention.

"W-what?" she replied.

"I know I already asked you this before, but are you sure you're okay?" Sonic said.

Amy made a face. NOT everything was okay but she didn't feel like telling Sonic about.

"Yes, Sonic." she said. "I'm fine."

There was a knock at Amy's front door. Sonic went to answer it and found Knuckles the echidna at the female hedgehog's door stop.

"Hey Knux, what's up?" Sonic greeted.

"We need Amy at Tails' Workshop." Knuckles told him. "Something has come up."

"Um, Knuckles?" Amy spoke up. "Can I talk to you for a second? In private?"

The two males threw surprised looks, then exchanged glances. Sonic excused himself to the porch while Knuckles proceeded towards the living room.

"What is it, Amy?" the crimson guardian asked.

The sakura hedgehog plopped down on the couch and looked down at the ground.

"I'm...I'm starting to get scared." Amy explained. "Remember how I told you I was hearing Mephiles voice in my head?"

"Yes?" Knuckles replied.

"I...I never stopped hearing it. And now I'm starting see weird stuff and I can't remember a few things. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"What about your neck? Is it still bothering you?"

"Yeah, it's kinda sore now."

There was a moment of silence while the crimson echidna fumed.

'This isn't good.' he thought. 'This can only mean that Mephiles is trying to establish a link with her, and that only puts Amy in even more danger.'

Amy rubbed her neck a little while letting out a groan.

"Amy," Knuckles said. "I think you should come back over to Tails' Workshop. For your safety."

The young flower gave a confused expression at first and then nodded. They joined Sonic who was still waiting on the front porch and headed over to Tails' Workshop.

-

Meanwhile, Mephiles was sitting in his now completed decoy hide-out. It was small in comparison to his hide-out in Kingdom Valley, but since it was supposed to be a decoy, the demon didn't really care. Mephiles had been watching everything unfold at Amy Rose's house and found it to be quite amusing. He wasn't the least bit concerned when he saw Amy spill the beans. It wasn't like the guardian, the speedster, or anyone else for that matter, could stop him now.

Although, now that the echidna seemed a little more determined to keep the young female from him, it would be a little challenging to retrieve her when the demon wanted to. But nevertheless, Mephiles loved a challenge. It made him even more delighted when he heard Amy voicing her concerns about what was going on in her head. The bond between them was growing stronger by the minute. Soon enough, she will fall completely under his control. Mephiles had to say, it was quite nice having a companion around. It was better having an intelligent companion rather than just having Iblis' brainless and brutish spawns. And far more enjoyable.

Mephiles continued to watch the trio as they entered Tails' Workshop. It was there, that the demon hatched another plan. He could make his retrieval of Amy a lot easier if he sent Iblis' minions to distract the others away from the Workshop. He had everything else he wanted. Now he wanted his 'mate'. Out from the ground, emerged biters and golems.

"Why don't you go out to Station Square and have a little fun?" Mephiles told them.

With grunts, howls, and roars, the monsters trudged away from the crystal cave. Mephiles resumed his attention on the crystal that showed him what was going on at Tails' Workshop. Amy was being questioned by Rouge and Tails. Mephiles snickered at their attempts to gather information about himself. This was almost too much fun to be had. He'd done such a good job of keeping himself hidden and under a low profile that very few souls were even aware that he was there.

-

Amy was surrounded by Tails, Sonic Knuckles, Rouge and Shadow. They were all exchanging suggestions and questions about what to do next. Amy was sitting in a crouched position with her knees against her chest and staring down at the floor. She sort of gasped and jumped when she suddenly heard a dark chuckle in her head. It was so deep, it made Amy shudder. Then Amy felt someone sit on the brown couch next to her. It was Sonic. He smiled at her as though he were attempting to cheer her up. His attempts were in vain, however as the young flower didn't seem to be in the mood. Tails briefly left the room to fetch something but then came running back in, clearly upset.

"Guys, you gotta come see this!" the kitsune cried.

They all followed him into another room which had a TV with the news line screaming. It showed hellish beasts tearing apart Station Square and threatening the public.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day." Sonic remarked.

"It appears that Mephiles has made his move." Shadow deduced.

"So...what do we do now?" Amy asked.

"We can just sit idly by and let these monsters trash the city." Knuckles said to which everyone agreed to. "Tails, you stay here with Amy."

The sakura hedgehog was NOT pleased by this arrangement.

"WHAT?" she cried as everyone else headed out.

"Just listen to me, Amy." Knuckles told her as he went out the door.

Amy began to pout as she and Tails stood and watched the others leave.

"I'm just as able to fight as they are." Amy muttered.

"Don't worry about it, Amy." Tails said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they mean well."

Amy still felt irritated.

-

Mephiles, watching all this unfold from his hide-out, made a sinister grin.

"All too easy." he murmured darkly.

The demon stood up and raised his hand. An orb of black and purple dust enveloped him and he disappeared.


	16. Chapter 16

-Chapter 16-

Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow all rushed to Station Square. As they entered the city, they were nearly repelled by roaring flames. Biters and golems were destroying building and menacing innocent crowds of people. The four mobians engaged the beasts whom looked upon them as play toys. The battle was difficult to get through. As one beast went down, three more took its place.

"Damn, these guys don't know when to give up do they?" Sonic quirked.

Shadow was deathly determined to destroy them all and to make their leader come out of hiding. Meanwhile, Knuckles and Rouge were fighting side by side. One golem threw a flame ball at the ivory bat, but Knuckles intercepted it and broke it apart by smashing the ball with his spiked fist. Bits of the shattered rock fell onto Rouge's feet.

"My boots!" she whined.

Knuckles in turn, ignored the female bat's complaints and continued fighting. Sonic was using his speed to cut off oxygen from the flaming beasts, causing them to burn out.

"Ha Haaaa!" he leered.

Back at Tails' Workshop, the kitsune was making last minute fittings on the 'Tornado' in case it was needed, while Amy was aimlessly wandering around the building. She felt very restless and uptight. She came to a wall and started bumping her head up against it. After a while, she let out a groan. Suddenly, Amy heard the demon's voice yet again.

'Ohhhhh Aaaaaamy.'

The sakura hedgehog jumped when she heard it.

'Amy...I'm coming for you...'

The young female gave a shudder. Also causing her to anxiously rub her arms.

'I gotta...I gotta get ahold of myself.' she thought nervously.

Amy walked down the hall and into the bathroom. she promptly turned on the sink faucet and splashed water onto her face . Amy paused and looked at herself in the mirror. She was a little bit of a mess. Letting out a deep sigh, the cherry-pink girl bent over to wash her face a little more. When Amy lifted her head back up, she suddenly saw Mephiles in the mirror. She spun around and gasped. Before anything else happened, the demon grabbed her and placed a hand on her muzzled.

"Do you not get tired of this?" Mephiles coyly asked.

Amy gave out a cry and tried getting out of his grasp. Mephiles used his influence over her and licked her bite mark. The poor girl suddenly felt really, really tired. She was fading. Fast.

'Wha...what's happening...to me?' Amy cried mentally.

"Why don't you take a nap, dear one?" Mephiles cooed. "You look like you could use one."

Amy, still trying to fight off his influence with whatever strength she had left.

"Nnnnooooo...let..me...go!" she droned.

Mephiles then started petting her affectionately like a kitten. Soon enough, Amy's will to fight was wavering quickly.

"Relax, my sweet, and go to sleep." Mephiles whispered lovingly to her.

Amy couldn't fight back anymore. Resistance was futile.

"O...okay.." she murmured.

With that, the sakura hedgehog slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep in the demon's arms. He scooped her up and carried her away bridal style.

"There's a good girl." Mephiles sneered quietly.

Tails was still in the hanger when he decided that he should check up on Amy. He went into the room where she was supposed to be, but didn't find her there. Then the kitsune decided to go down the hall where he suddenly came across Mephiles, cradling a limp Amy in his arms. Before Tails could react, the demon zapped him with his powers, instantly knocking the fox unconscious. Mephiles causally walked away before teleporting away from the workshop.

The rest of the group were still in the city trying to best the flaming beasts. But each time they became seemingly successful, more monsters came. It looked as if the group were about meet their match. Each of them were becoming worn out from the heat of battle.

"I hate to say this Knux, but we're running out of options. Sonic rasped.

"Agreed." Knuckles replied. "We may need to get some chaos emeralds."

Before they even thought about going Super, the demonic monsters suddenly began to flee, leaving the heroes confused and baffled.

"Um...we won?" Sonic quipped.

"No, they're running away." Shadow pointed out. "Back to their leader."

Without a second thought or word, the ultimate lifeform went after them, leaving Knuckles, Sonic, and Rouge behind.

"Why would they leave like that?" Rouge asked. "They almost had us."

"I'm not sure myself." Knuckles said. "Unless if they...oh shit."

The other two stared at the echidna with questioning expressions.

"What is it, Knuckles?" Sonic inquired.

"We have to get to Tails' place." Knuckles replied, frantically. "NOW."

Shadow trailed the fleeing monsters closely determined not to let them escape. In actuality however, he was merely following them so that they could lead him to their master. But it was for naught. They disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke, engage the ebony hedgehog.

'Dammit!' he mentally cursed.

Behind him, a puddle of purple goo formed and materialized.

"Oh Shaaaadoow!" a voice cried.

The ultimate lifeform spun around and found Mephiles staring right at him.

"YOU!" Shadow shouted.

"Long time no see huh?" Mephiles leered.

"What the devil are you talking about?"

"Oh you'll see enough..."

Shadow decided he had enough, and changed full speed at the demon. Mephiles quickly dodged him and threw exploding orbs at him which Shadow punched into dust. Then, Mephiles unleashed a purplish black fog on the crimson-splashed hedgehog, throwing him off course.

'Damn!' Shadow mentally hissed.

While he was trying to find a way out of the haze, Mephiles crept up behind him and grabbed his head with both hands.

"AUGH!"

Suddenly, a flash of images rapidly ran through Shadow's mind. Images of him in Soleanna and in a apocalyptic world, fighting Mephiles. The demon finally let him go and the ebony male fell limply to the ground.

"So that you remember..." Mephiles hissed.

Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge rushed back to Tails' Workshop. They found the place erringly quiet.

"Tails? You in her, buddy?" Sonic called out.

There was no reply. They turned a corner and found the saffron fox lying unconsciously on the floor.


	17. Chapter 17

-Chapter 17-

"Tails!"

The blue blur rushed over to the kitsune's limp form laying silently on the floor and carefully picked him up.

"Tails! Wake up!" Sonic cried. "Snap out of it!"

The young fox flickered his eyes open and he let out a groan.

"Ohhh, what happened?" Tails whimpered rubbing his neck.

"Are you alright, Tails?" Knuckles asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah...I think so."

There was a moment of relief as it appeared that he was going to be fine.

"Where is Amy?" Rouge spoke up.

Before Tails could respond, both Knuckles and Sonic tensed up.

"Amy...oh! I saw her get carried away by a guy that looked like Shadow!" the kitsune exclaimed.

Sonic immediately felt drained and Knuckles cursed while punching a hole in the wall. Rouge stood silently, taking in the horrid news.

"So what now?" she asked softly.

"I don't know." Knuckles muttered gruffly. "We don't even know what happened with Shadow."

There was an aching moment of dead silence as the heroes scanned their noggans for bright ideas.

"Well," Rouge began, looking at Knuckles. "you and I look for Shadow and Sonic and Tails can look for Amy."

"How?" the ruby echidna questioned. "We don't even know where they are."

"Wait, I remember placing a homing device on Amy." Tails interjected. "We can still locate her."

They went into the main computer room. On a large screen, a topographic map was displayed. After typing a few keys, Tails got a lone signal to appear. It was coming from Mystic Ruins.

"Figures." Sonic muttered.

"Well, at least we have something to go on." Knuckles pointed out. "Lets get moving."

As Sonic and Tails headed for Mystic Ruins, Rouge and Knuckles headed down towards the area where Shadow was last seen. They ended up in a secluded area surrounded by various foliage.

"This must be part of the park." Rouge pointed put.

They continued their search looking high and low. But no sign of Shadow.

"Geez." Knuckles exclaimed. "Just how far away did Shadow go?"

As they went down the dirt path, they soon came across rubble consisting of ash and brimstone. Then they turned a sharp corner and found the Ultimate Lifeform lying on the ground and still unconscious. The pair rushed over to him and tried reviving him.

"Shadow! Are you alright?" Rouge cried. "Shadow!"

The ebony hedgehog finally stirred and awoken. Groaning in pain, he was help up by Knuckles and Rouge. Shadow rubbed his head as he got to his feet.

"Uggghhh..." he groaned. "Where am I?"

"Somewhere in Station Square Park." Rouge told him.

Shadow looked around in confusion. He was having difficulty trying to remember what had happened to him. Rouge could tell that he needed medical attention.

"We better get him indoors." the ivory bat told Knuckles. "He needs help."

The crimson guardian nodded in agreement though he was eager to find out what Shadow may have encountered.

Sonic and Tails tore their way through Mystic Ruins. They were determined to bring Amy safely back home. Failure could not be an option. As they toured the jungle, they found a cave covered with huge blue and purple crystals. It appeared they found Mephiles' hide-out.

"Should we go find the Master Emerald so you can turn Super, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"No, we don't have enough time." Sonic replied. "And besides, the Master Emerald is too far away."

They proceeded with caution into the cave. Every corner of earth was punctured with large crystals. They went down the hall-like tunnel, trying to be prepared if anything suddenly jumped out at them. They went down a smaller tunnel with everything as quiet as a graveyard. Finally, the tunnel ended in a colossal chamber where crystals completely dominated everything except the ground upon which Sonic and Tails were standing.

Sitting in a cluster of smaller crystals, was Mephiles in his hedgehog form. He on the cluster very casually as if he were sitting on a throne and as if he was expecting the cyan hedgehog and saffron fox. In the demon's lap, still slumbering, was Amy Rose with her back towards Sonic and Tails. Mephiles was petting her head and quills as if she were his pet kitten. Seeing this made Sonic enraged and wanting to tear this guy apart. Mephiles sensed this and made a nasty grin.

"Well, well." he sneered. "What do we have here?"

"You let Amy go, you freak!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Shhhhh!" Mephiles quietly snapped. "The little one is sleeping. You'll wake her up."

Watching the demon look affectionately down on Amy and continue to pet her made Sonic fell sick. The sakura hedgehog herself, was laid over Mephiles' lap like a rag doll and completely still. Sonic suppressed a growl and curled his fingers into a tight fist with each hand. Mephiles let out a bored sigh.

"I suppose you want to engage combat with me." he murmured.

"You can count on it!" Sonic hissed.

"Very well."

Mephiles scooped the limp Amy and placed her inside some crystals that boxed her away from the heroic pair. Then the demon approached them, changing into his crystalline demonic form.

"Have at it!" he sneered.


	18. Chapter 18

-Chapter 18-

The crystal walls around Sonic, Tails, and Mephiles began to glow as they readied themselves for battle. Mephiles summoned millions of his tiny demon familiars to surround the cyan hedgehog and saffron fox.

"Let's see if you can, entertain me." the demon snickered.

Sonic and Tails attempted to fight off the familiars as they swarmed around the pair like angry hornets, but they were so small, they managed to attach themselves to them and explode after quite a few clung onto each body. Sonic performed a spin dash to get the familiars off of him and Tails tried prying them off with his hands. Mephiles let out a bone chilling laugh and began firing exploding orbs at the pair. Sonic and Tails were quick to dodge them, but just barely. When Mephiles was about to unleash a huge orb, Sonic and Tails managed to spin dash at the demon, obliterating the orb and knocking the demon into the glass walls. Mephiles however, was unaffected. He cricked his head back and forth, snapping a few bones in and out of place.

"You'll have to do better than that!" he leered.

Then he created hundreds of dopple-gangers of himself and ordered them to attack. This caused Sonic and Tails to become quickly disoriented and overwhelmed. When one was destroyed, four more took its place.

"Sonic, what do we do?" Tails cried.

"We need to work as a team." Sonic told the kitsune. "You distract him while and I'll hurt him."

"Gotcha!"

As they carried out their plan, Mephiles continued to shoot orbs at them. Tails flew around him, trying to get the demon to focus on him. He finally got him to start attacking the twin-tailed alone, prompting Sonic to make his move. He launched himself against the demon, knocking him at least 50 feet away. Growling, he made his tiny familiars to bring the kitsune and the hedgehog to their knees. They managed to separate Tails and Sonic by sending one flying towards one direction and the other to another. Sonic landed right in front of the crystal casing that held Amy. While they were fighting, she remained asleep and still as stone inside the casing. It was deaf to the sounds of battle.

"Ammmmyyyy!" Sonic cried, knocking his fists up against the transparent rock. "It's me, Sonic! Please wake up!"

But his efforts were in total vain. She did not respond and remained in a stupor. Before Sonic could attempt to free Amy from her 'prison', Mephiles launched himself at the blue blur and slammed him into the crystal walls of the chamber, instantly stunning him.

"Sonic!" Tails cried as he watched him fall to the ground.

"MRWAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA!" Mephiles laughed in glee.

Tails quickly grabbed ahold of Sonic and dragged him into a small opening covered by stretching crystals. There, the kitsune attempted to revive his friend.

"Sonic, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah."

The hedgehog groaned in pain while Mephiles tried snuffing them out of the opening.

"No use hiding now!" he leered cruelly.

The pair in concealment, exchanged dire looks. If they didn't put the demon in the ground soon, it would start to get increasingly impossible to do so. And Amy might never get help. In one last desperate attempt to defeat Mephiles, Tails and Sonic both charged at him. They actually managed to knock him down again. This maneuver was repeated again and again until Mephiles finally dropped to the ground below. While trying to get out of a daze, Sonic and Tails charged at him once more, but Mephiles narrowly evaded him.

"Give it up, Mephiles!" the cyan hedgehog shouted.

It did seem that Mephiles was about to run out of steam. It also seemed that his arrogance would get the best of him again. But no, he wouldn't allow that to happen. Not again. Not this time. Quickly, he summoned Iblis' powers causing the entire chamber to shake violently. The quake shook large crystals from their bases and fall like rain onto the ground nearly hitting Sonic and Tails. As one large quartz pierced the earth, lava came sweeping out of it and covered the entire cavern floor, prompting the young fox and the hedgehog to quickly get on the fallen crystals. Then Mephiles, seeing that he was out of their reach, fired a large beam that blew a large hole into the chamber leading to the surface, and showing a stormy sky. The rain falling onto the lava pit caused steam to emit, but it wasn't enough to cool the magma which continued to flood the chamber.

Mephiles flew over to where he placed Amy earlier, and gently scooped her up. Even after all that happening she still sleeping. She started moaning in distress but Mephiles held her close and made sure that she didn't wake up. Not just yet. Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails were struggling to keep from getting burned or incinerated by the impending magma. They barely caught Mephiles making his swift exit.

"It's been a pleasant little game, my friends." the demon declared. "But now, I must bid you adieu."

With that, he disappeared into the distance with Amy in his arms.

"Dammit!" Sonic shouted in frustration.

The problem now was escaping the cavern themselves. The vast heat and steam was starting to take its toll on Tails.

"Tails, we need to get out of here pronto!" Sonic cried, not noticing Tails' condition.

The tired fox gave a nod and grabbed ahold of the hedgehog's wrists and flew as fast and hard as he could. They finally managed to reach the surface of the hole and plopped down onto the jungle floor. Sonic was gasping and coughing while Tails had fainted from heat exhaustion. Sonic noticed him and began to panic.

"Tails!" he cried.

He tried reviving him but to no avail. The cyan male knew he would have to get him to sick bay of the kitsune's workshop quickly for medical attention. As Sonic raced at high speed towards Station Square with his limp best friend in his arms, he felt an overwhelming sense of failure. He and Tails not only failed to stop and defeat Mephiles, but they also to rescue Amy. The mere fact that they failed to retrieve the sakura hedgehog made Sonic feel even worse. He was always the hero and he always saved the day. But this time he failed to do any of that and it just made him feel powerless and rotten.

'Amy, I'm so sorry.' Sonic thought bitterly.

Back at Station Square, Knuckles and Rouge were at the infirmary where Shadow was still trying to recover from being attacked by Mephiles earlier. The ruby echidna and ivory bat stood silently by Shadow's side. Finally, he flickered his blood-red eyes opened.

"Shadow, are you okay?" Rouge asked him.

Shadow made groan. He struggled to sit up and looked around in a daze. The Ultimate Lifeform had passed out while Rouge and Knuckles brought him to the G.U.N HQ's infirmary. His memory was quite fractured and he still had trouble recalling what had happened to him earlier. A problem he encountered years before.

"He must have gotten hit pretty bad." Rouge quietly commented to Knuckles.

The echidna nodded in agreement. It would be wise to let Shadow fully recover before asking him questions. The ebony hedgehog continued to just stare out into space trying to even think straight. He remembered going after Mephiles' minions in the Station Square Park, and then facing the demon himself. Then he suddenly started to see all the past memories that were given to him by Mephiles, causing Shadow to widen his crimson eyes.

"Shadow?" Rouge said in confusion.

The midnight hedgehog jolted forward and let out a gasp, startling both Rouge and Knuckles.

"Take it easy, Shadow." Knuckles warned him.

Shadow continued to gasp, trying to register the significance of these memories implanted into by Mephiles. Him, along with Rouge and Omega in a place called Soleanna and chasing Mephiles relentlessly. How was that even possible? Sure he had heard of Soleanna before but he never went there, at least not to his knowledge. Rouge didn't seem to have gone there before either, but talked about vacationing there. And Shadow was pretty sure that Omega hadn't set foot in Soleanna because his memory files were looked over a week ago and there was no record of the robot ever being in that area.

Perhaps something in the time space continuum happened to cause his and everyone else's memories to be erased. It could that or Mephiles was just trying to fool Shadow into thinking all that. Both theories seemed plausible and acceptable, but one problem remained. Which theory to go on? And what should they do next about it? Shadow was wondering if he should even tell Rouge and Knuckles about the memories Mephiles implanted into him. He could come off as a raving lunatic. Finally, he decided to disclose the matter nonetheless.

"Rouge.." Shadow whispered.

"Yes, Shadow?" Rouge replied. "What is it?"

It had been five minutes of silence since he woke up. The ivory bat was worried about Shadow.

"We...may have met Mephiles before." the Ultimate Lifeform continued quietly.

Rouge and Knuckles stared at him and then at each other with shock.

"What?


	19. Chapter 19

-Chapter 19-

Sonic managed to get Tails safely back to his Workshop in Station Square where he was able to recover from heat exhaustion. The blue hedgehog then got a communicator and contacted Knuckles.

"Knux, are you there?"

After a few seconds of static, the echidna finally patched through.

"Knuckles here. What happened?"

"Knux, I'm not sure how to say this," Sonic stammered. "but Amy's gone. Mephiles took off with her."

"Damn!" the guardian cursed.

There was a moment of deep silence.

"Well," Knuckles began again. "we have Shadow here and he says he has something really important to discuss with us. Maybe you and Tails should come to the G.U.N HQ to hear what he has to say."

"Okay. We'll be on our way." Sonic replied.

Amy had a hard time waking up. Her head was hurting really bad. So bad that she wondered if she had gotten hit with something. Amy cracked her jade eyes open and tried looking around, but her vision was quite blurry. The sakura hedgehog let out a little moan. Her ear twitched to a deep dark voice.

"Ah, I see you're awake finally."

Amy turned her head and barely made out Mephiles walking towards her. Her cranium continued pounding, making the young female emit pained moans.

"Oh, is your head bothering you? Here, let me help..."

She felt Mephiles' hand on her temple and the pain instantly melted away. But her mind was still on the fuzzy side. The demon sat down beside her and began to stroke her muzzle affectionately.

"Wuh...where...am I?" Amy rasped.

"Home." Mephiles simply replied.

Now Amy was greatly confused. Wherever she was, it didn't seem to look like her house. Amy felt like a lump of dead meat. Mephiles looked down on her with a soft gaze, stroking her bangs. The cherry-pink hedgehog's vision started to clear up a bit. She saw that she was in a large crystal chamber, causing her to lift her head a little.

"Wait a minute," she muttered. "this...this isn't my house! You said I was home!"

Mephiles was unfazed in the face of Amy's accusations.

"I did." he said smoothly. "This is your new home."

Amy shook her head and tried running off but Mephiles interfered.

'Stop.' he mentally commanded.

Instantly Amy halted in her steps and froze. She tried moving forward but nothing happened.

'Wha...what the hell?' she cried in her mind.

Mephiles meanwhile, flashed an evil grin. Amy was fully under his control. She continued trying to move forward but still nothing happened. Then the sakura female felt two arms snake around her form. Amy began shaking in fright.

"What...What did you do to me?" she cried.

"Nothing my dear." Mephiles cooed nuzzling her neck. "Since you now belong to me, you're now obeying my every order."

Amy couldn't believe what she just heard.

"You...YOU BASTERD!" she exclaimed.

The young flower tried hitting the demon with her Piko-Piko Hammer. Mephiles simply dodged her attacks until he finally got ahold of her hammer.

"Now, now." he scolded. "If you can't learn to behave my sweet, I'm going to have to take away your toys."

Amy growled.

"LIKE HELL!" she shouted.

Amy tried hand-to-hand combat, but Mephiles grabbed ahold of her wrists and pulled her roughly into a kiss.

"Mpph!"

The cherry-pink female tried getting away by squirming in the demon's iron tight hold. Pretty soon Amy felt limp in Mephiles' arms. When he finally let her loose from the lip lock. Amy let out a series of coughs. While she was trying to regain oxygen, Mephiles continued nuzzling her. Amy attempted to push him away but the demon remained persistent.

"Let me go, dammit!" she squealed.

"Hmmm, it doesn't seem like you want to behave." Mephiles murmured.

Amy let out a whine and started to kick to get away from him. Mephiles let out a sigh and finally released her.

"Oh alright, if you insist my sweet."

The sakura hedgehog without another word or even considering the hidden warning behind his words, ran off. She ran down different tunnels and passageways, trying in vain to find a way out. Mephiles was slowly following her, not at all concerned that she might escape. Amy tried locating an exit but it was all for naught. She was lost in a hopeless maze.

"Are you quite finished yet?" Mephiles' voice rang out.

Amy gasped and spun around. Although she couldn't quite see him yet, it was apparent that he was coming down the hall-like tunnel. Now Amy was not just scared, she was terrified. Trapped in prison below ground with no possible way of getting out. It almost made her want to scream. The young flower broke into yet another run. At least to get away from the demon that was relentlessly pursuing her. Then Mephiles suddenly appeared in front of her.

"That's enough fun and games now." he stated.

Trembling Amy backed away a little as he approached her, lowering her ears.

"Wha...What do want from me?" she questioned.

That's when Mephiles flashed an evil grin.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Sonic and Tails headed over to the G.U.N HQ. In the lobby they met with Knuckles.

"So what's this thing with Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"According to him," Knuckles explained. "we've apparently met Mephiles before."

Sonic along with Tails, blinked.

"How?" Tails asked.

"I'm not sure myself." Knuckles replied. "Something that had gone wrong with the Time Space Continuum."

"That explains it." Sonic huffed.

"You think Mephiles can control time?" Tails pondered.

"Could be possible." Knuckles said. "But I still don't understand how or why only Shadow obtained this information."

That was a very good question. Why just Shadow and no one else? Did Mephiles have some personal vendetta against the ebony hedgehog? Or was it to weaken the most powerful fighter among them? It was just strange whatever the reason.

"So what's our plan now?" Tails asked.

"Well, since Shadow keeps babbling about this Soleanna place, it wouldn't hurt to check that out." Knuckles replied.

Sonic cracked his own knuckles in anticipation.

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets get going!" he exclaimed.

"Hold on, Sonic." Knuckles interjected. "We can't just go blindly into battle. We need a plan first."

"Plan scham. If we wait any longer, Amy could be in big trouble, and it's my fault that she is!"

There was a deathly silence as the ruby echidna and cyan hedgehog tried glaring the other down. Tails finally stepped in.

"Look guys." he began. "Knuckles is right. We'll land right where we are now without a battle plan. And yes, Amy could be danger, but I'm sure she's alright. It isn't like she's completely helpless."

Both Knuckles and Sonic had to agree to that after thinking all of the times the sakura hedgehog came after them with her hammer.

"Alright Tails." Sonic sighed. "We'll do it Knuckles' way."


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Okay here's where it kinda hits the R rating folks. If you're not 18 or older please skip the first part of the chapter or don't read it at all. See you next chpater! Peace Out! :)**

* * *

><p>-Chapter 20-<p>

Amy jolted upward gasping for air and her face adorned with nervous sweat. She had just come out of a horrible nightmare. It felt so real and it was so vivid, that it almost felt like it actually happened. Amy rocked herself back and forth trying to calm down and get ahold of herself. She squeezed her eyes shut as faint memories flashed through her mind with grim determination to torment her once again.

=Dreams=

_Mephiles had dragged Amy back to the chamber in which she woke up. She tried getting away from him again, but like before, it was futile. The demon immediately spelled his influence over the young female so she couldn't fight him physically or mentally. Her eyes went blank as Mephiles carried her around like a little doll. The next thing the sakura hedgehog knew, was that she was laid down on something soft and cushioned. She could quite tell what it was. It could have been a bed, but Amy doubted it because everything else was either glowing crystal or earth._

_Amy continued to give Mephiles a blank stare as he dove in for a kiss. Then Amy started to feel the same feelings and unwanted emotions as she did the night Mephiles came to her home. Her body heated up as the demon's hands commenced traveling throughout her form. Her breath made hitches when he found her erogenous zones. Next, Mephiles summoned a little of Iblis' powers by lifting a finger and having a tiny flame appear on it. He then traced his lit claw from the collar of Amy's dress, right down to the hem._

_A blush appeared on the young flower's muzzle as Mephiles got a full view of herself without garments on. Her frame was a perfect hourglass shape and greatly defined for her age. Her fur was just as soft there as anywhere else on her form. To Mephiles, Amy was just purity he wanted to badly taint with his malice. He tossed aside her garments and snuggled up to her._

_"You're too beautiful a flower to be covered up like this." the demon whispered._

_Amy was still in a trance, unable to register what was happening or what was about to happen to her. The female let out a loud and sharp gasp when she felt something thrust and intruding into her core and break something. Her body started to shake from the impact and little beads of sweat began to form on her face and fur. Amy whimpered a little and even though she was in a trance, her jade eyes started to brim with tears. Mephiles sensed and felt her pain._

_"Relax." he cooed._

_Amy let out a few more moans and unwillingly wrapped her legs around the demon's waist. From that point on, they set a rhythm of going back and forth until Amy felt something cool emit from _the_ heat that was created. Exhaustion began to set in on the sakura hedgehog._

=End Dreams=

Amy continued to rock herself back and forth and squeeze her eyes close. She shivered thinking back on her nightmare. But there was a bigger question. Was it really a nightmare or did it actually happen? Amy began to get very unnerved and jumpy and she slid off the platform she was on. The cherry pink hedgehog winced as she felt pain in her lower abdomen. It was here she noticed a change in her attire. Instead of her traditional red dress and boots, she was now clad in a glittering pale bluish purple gown that splitted down to the hem a few inches below her waist on both sides. Her boots were silver plated and had crystals like the ones sticking out of the walls embedded into them. After looking at herself in the reflection that the giant crystals gave off, Amy also saw that even her headband was different and her gloves were gone as well.

Amy looked up in despair, now doubting that she'll ever see sunlight again. She felt extremely homesick and desperately wanting to leave this hell hole. The young flower slowly slid down and plopped down on her fanny and began quietly sobbing.

Meanwhile, Mephiles was in the old castle in Kingdom Valley, now littered with crystals. He raised a hand and another crystal was erected from the ground. The crystal reflected a vision of Amy, distraught and curled up on the floor weeping. Mephiles let out a heavy sigh.

"She can be so fickle!" he muttered to himself.

Then the demon saw another vision. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow were walking around in the city of Soleanna. Mephiles let out another sigh. He knew Shadow would be inclined to come to Soleanna but he didn't expect to see the others.

"So, decided to bring in the calvery, eh Shadow?" Mephiles hissed.

After watching them for a few minutes, Mephiles figured why not have fun with them? They seem to enjoy getting nearly beaten to death. Then the crystals in the crumbling castle went from glowing bluish purple to bright orange.

Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, Rouge, and Shadow walked into the city of Soleanna preparing themselves for just about anything. They strolled through the quiet yet busy streets of the town in search for Mephiles.

"There doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary." Tails pointed out.

"Yeah." Rouge agreed. "Shadow, are you sure there's something up here?"

"I'm certain." Shadow quietly replied with a deadly assurance.

They continued on their way through the town passing by many a citizen going about their way.

"Well, all things considered, this place is pretty nice." Sonic quipped.

Suddenly they were interrupted by a terrified scream. Over in the city square, a few unlucky bystanders were being menaced by flaming biters that appeared out of nowhere.

"Like I said." Sonic quipped again.

The four of them charged at the monsters while the other bystanders took cover or ran away. When they successfully destroy the beast more suddenly appeared, outnumbering the mobian quartet.

"Crap. This kinda sucks." Sonic muttered.

"Who cares?" Knuckles interjected. "If these things are here then that means Mephiles is here too!"

Then the echidna charged forward and started anilating as many monsters as he could. Sonic and the rest of the team promptly joined in. Sitting on a rooftop above them was Mephiles himself. Still in his hedgehog form, he sat in a crouched position and keenly watched the others destroy his minions. Pretty soon the demon was becoming quite bored with the action.

'Hmmm, this does not seem as entertaining as I hoped.' he thought. 'Let's see what happens when I add my own powers to my little pets.'


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Okay, since school has now started, this will now be a weekly update. Did I ever mention how I hate the first week of school? Busy, busy, busy! And it's also college 0_o Anyway see you soon!**

* * *

><p>-Chapter 21-<p>

Sonic and company continued fighting the hellish monsters. Worms, biters, golems, and birds menaced the quartet and drove to destroy them all with the hopes of also locating Mephiles. Then, the mobian heroes finally managed to best the demons. Huffing and puffing from the vast effort, the team was really exhausted from the heat of battle. Suddenly more hellish beasts appeared out of nowhere, glowing purple instead of the normal orange. This seemed to make them more powerful.

"Damn," Sonic rasped. "just how many of these things are there?"

"This is starting to get hopeless." Rouge whimpered.

"You think this is hopeless now?" a voice hissed.

The team spun around and saw Mephiles, now in his demonic form, standing at the end of the square.

"Just wait until I unleash my entire horde!" he continued.

Sonic immediately spin dashed on a monster as it reached out for him, then he tried attack Mephiles himself. However he was repelled by a shield surrounding the demon lord.

"Where the hell is Amy, you freak?" the blue blur shouted.

Mephiles flashed a nasty and sadistic grin at Sonic.

"It's none of your concern, but I shall tell you anyway." he sneered. "I wouldn't worry though, she's safely tucked away and far from your reach."

Sonic let out a growl and attempted to attack the demon again. But like before, Mephiles was protected by his shield, sending the hedgehog ricocheting towards the opposite side. The others tried to back him up, but they were repulsed by the other monsters running around. Mephiles let out a cackle as he watched the heroes desperately trying to defeat the atrocities he created.

"I think I'll leave now and let you play." the demon leered. "Ta!"

He was about to teleport away when Sonic launched himself at Mephiles, causing both of them to teleport away.

Amy roamed around the chamber she was left in. Not only afraid, but also bored to tears. What the hell was she supposed to do in an enclosure with absolutely nothing? Amy was bound to go insane. She finally decided to leave the chamber itself. A little walking around wouldn't hurt. But when she tried to exit the space, a cluster of crystals suddenly thrusted up from the ground, blocking the sakura hedgehog's path.

Amy quickly became disheartened. Not only was the chamber driving her crazy by the minute, but now she was trapped inside. The cherry-pink female let out a semi-frustrated cry. It was clear that her captor was not going to let her leave at all. Then Amy remembered her Piko-Piko hammer. She got ahold of it and attempted to break apart the giant minerals that barred her path. However, when she brought down her hammer, no damage was done and caused Amy's body to shake violently. She fell to the ground in a dizzy little fit

Suddenly the crystals around her sticking out of the chamber walls began to glow and hum. Amy began to get scared that she might have started or broke something. Unknown to her, it meant that Mephiles had returned to the hide-out, and with an unwanted house guest.

Sonic gasped and coughed when he reappeared in the cave Mephiles called home. The demon was nowhere to be seen however so Sonic was alone. He looked around his surroundings.

"Damn, this is pretty claustrophobic." he remarked.

He went down the tunnel, finding nothing but more glowing crystals from the earthen walls. The blue blur could easily see his reflection in them. Next, he came to two separate tunnels. Like a fork in the road. Sonic hated these things. It would be easy to get lost like that. With no other choice, he grudgingly picked a path and went towards the right.

Meanwhile, Mephiles was in the main and central chamber watching Sonic and Amy both at the same time. With one hand behind his back and the other underneath his chin, it seemed to him that he hit upon something interesting and entertaining for him. So he sat and allowed the cerulean hedgehog find the demon's mate. It wasn't like Sonic could escape with her anyway.

Amy recovered from her little spill while trying to leave the chamber. The crystals that blocked the young flower's way rescinded into the ground from whence they came. Amy decided not to try to leave again, suspecting that the crystals would root up once more if she did. The sakura hedgehog slowly walked over to the platform of which she was lying on when she woke up earlier. Amy had to wonder just how long she was going to be kept here. She curled up into a tight ball and shivered letting out a whimper. Suddenly Amy heard footsteps coming towards her direction. She jolted up and crawled backwards, being spooked. Her ears flattened on her head and she let out another whimper. It looked like Mephiles was coming down the hall, and right now, Amy did not want his company.

But it turned out to be not Mephiles, but someone completely different. It was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy's eyes widened in shock and she let out a sharp gasp. She never in her wildest dreams expected to see him here.

"S-sonic?" she rasped.

The cerulean hedgehog's ear twitched when he heard her inquisitive voice and turned around. His own emerald orbs widened when he saw Amy there in the next area. Without a word he rushed forward ignoring everything else and grabbed a hold of the sakura hedgehog.

"Amy! Oh god, are you alright?" Sonic cried.

Amy was still in shock. Was she dreaming?

"S...sonic?" she stammered. "I-is that really you?"

Sonic was too much overjoyed to answer her. He was extremely worried that she might have gotten really hurt by Mephiles or worse. The male hedgehog continued to hold tightly onto Amy, trying to convince himself that it was really her and he wasn't hallucinating. Amy herself was questioning if this was her imagination at work.

"...Sonic?" her voice rang out.

Sonic finally released her from his hold and looked into her jade eyes.

"Are you alright, Amy?" he asked her again. "You're not hurt are you? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm-I'm alright. I think." Amy sputtered. "How did you get in here?"

"Well, I sort of followed tall dark and creepy here. But enough about that, lets get you the hell out of here!"

Amy gave a thin smile.

"Yeah." she replied softly. "That sounds nice."

With that, the blue speedster scooped up the young flower and took off. Amy felt so relieved to be finally getting out of this hell hole. She clung tightly to Sonic hoping to see the light of day.


	22. Chapter 22

-Chapter 22-

Sonic carried Amy through the vast and earthy tunnels of Mephiles' hide-out, trying to find a way out of there. Amy clung to her cyan hero and burrowed her face into his tan chest. Her mind was a messy tangle of fears, confusions, and thoughts. She was beginning to have second thoughts about Sonic and the other girl she had seen him with. If Sonic didn't care for Amy, then he wouldn't have bothered to save her. Or maybe he was just doing it because it was his thing. He was Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy just didn't know. She still wanted him, yes. But it made her feel worse.

Sonic held onto the sakura hedgehog tightly. He wasn't going to lose her this time. He would not fail her as he had previously. The cobalt male raced through the deep cavern that Mephiles called home. The crystals sticking out of the walls continued to glow and hum. The demon knew Sonic was here and what he currently had in his possession. The cerulean speedster picked up speed so he and Amy could get out of there safely. Then they suddenly got into a huge chamber littered with crystals. Sitting in one big cluster was the demon himself.

"Well, well..." Mephiles evilly sneered. "I don't seem to recall ever inviting you into my front door."

Sonic glared at him hatefully. He continued to hold Amy close to him and as tight as he could. Sonic wasn't going to let that basterd near Amy again. Mephiles on the other hand was amused by the cyan hedgehog's determination. It seemed cute to him.

"No matter," the demon continued. "I'm up for another game."

"Screw your games, Mephiles!" Sonic shouted.

"I'll have you mind your manners, insolent one."

Suddenly, millions of Mephiles' demonic familiars appeared surround every corner of the chamber. Sonic was quick to dodge them all as they attacked, carefully holding Amy in his arms. He bounced off the walls like a cannon Sonic tried spin dashing at the familiars to thin out their numbers. It seemed to work for a while but then they began to multiply again.

"MRWOO HA HA HA HAAAAAA!" Mephiles screeched with laughter.

Sonic let out a growl at him. Then he felt a slight vibration in his arms. It was Amy. The poor female was trembling from it all. Sonic decided it would be best to put her down so she wouldn't get hurt. He zipped to an area and gently placed her down on the ground.

"Sit tight." Sonic whispered, stroking Amy's muzzle. "I'll be back."

With that, he took off. Amy with a worried expression, watched the cerulean male fight. Mephiles meanwhile, slowly flashed an evil grin. He was waiting for Sonic to put the cherry-pink female down. Now he was free to attack Sonic at full force. However the blue blur was starting to prove his worth as he quickly eliminated each familiar one by one and quickly before they could multiply. Victory seemed assured until a piercing cry erupted in the chamber.

"Sooooonniiiiiic!"

It was Amy. A few demonic familiars emerged from where Amy was standing and began to drag her into a black vortex.

"Amy!" Sonic cried.

He rushed over to her at top speed but he was then blocked by Mephiles and received a hard punch to the muzzle from him knocking the hedgehog towards the opposite side. As he landed on the ground, the cerulean male weakly watched Amy get pulled completely into the vortex and vanish.

"No!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Now, now, my friend." Mephiles said in a playful tone. "I think it would be best to leave the little one out of this. Don't you?"

Sonic fiercely growled at the demon.

"YOU BASTERD!" he shouted in hate. "LET HER GO!"

The cyan male launched himself at Mephiles but the evil one had grabbed his neck and began strangling him. Sonic gasped and choked while trying to get Mephiles' hands off of him.

"Now I think it time to bid you adieu." the demon hissed.

With that he punched Sonic with so much force, that he knocked him out cold. Then Mephiles placed in a large orb and fired him out of the lair. Mephiles transformed back into his hedgehog form and placed both hands on his hips.

"That was the most fun I had in ages." he devilish quirked.

Amy reappeared in the very chamber which Sonic found her in. She stared at her surroundings in utter disbelief. Amy tried exiting the chamber only to be blocked by huge crystals sprouting out of the ground like before.

"Dammit! Let me out!" she cried, exasperated.

Then her captor suddenly appeared behind her, clicking his tongue.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You really shouldn't yell so much, my dear." Mephiles scolded.

In an instant, Amy rushed toward him intending to beat the crap out of him. Mephiles simply caught a hold of her by the waist and pulled her close to him. The sakura female wasted no time attempting to punch him while squirming in his arms to get away. Mephiles simply held her and impatiently waited for her to stop. While doing so, he made quite a discovery. Since he had a hand on her belly, he detected a microscopic life form growing by the second and partially holding powers similar to his own. Mephiles had to grin at this because he truly did not expect something like this to happen but nevertheless was delighted. It made him practically shiver in pleasure at the very thought of Amy being mother to one of his 'creations'.

'So, it appears that we have sired a spawn. How interesting.' Mephiles thought.

Amy, completely oblivious to what had recently transpired inside her, was still trying to get away from the demon.

"Let me go, you basterd!" she screeched.

"Mmm, I'm afraid I cannot do that, my sweet." Mephiles sneered.

Amy continued to struggle in his hold, trying in vain to break free. Now she was wishing that Sonic was here to help. Mephiles reading her mind, became annoyed that she was thinking of him.

"Why are you so concerned about that blue imbecile?" he questioned.

"What have you done with Sonic?" Amy cried, ignoring the demon's question. "Where is he?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because he's my friend!"

"A friend who takes advantage of you behind your back? Like before?"

Amy's eyes started to brim with tears, remembering that moment in Mystic Ruins where she saw Sonic and that other girl.

"S-shut up!" she rasped, her voice cracking. "Let me go! I wanna go home!"

"Do you honestly believe that fool will ever show you the love seek? Even after our union?" Mephiles said.

Amy's eyes widened in shock and confusion.

"Wha-What do you mean?" she asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Mephiles gave a rather cruel grin and nuzzled into her neck.

"You know what I'm talking about, my sweet. You just need to remember." Mephiles whispered into the female's ear.

Amy took a minute to think. Then she remembered her nightmare. It was there she realized that it was real and that the event of the horrid dream happened.

"You...you...you..." Amy stammered.

"That is correct, my sweet. We consummated, became one, and now you are my mate." Mephiles continued, his voice quieter and more cruel. "And do you believe that your precious Sonic will accept you after this? And what will your other companions think of you when they discover that you're carrying my offspring inside you?"

Amy was in horror. Not only was she raped, but she also impregnated by this fiend. Mephiles however, raised a very good point. Would her friends want to have anything to do with her, knowing that she was carrying the child of a demon? The poor girl broke down into heart wrenching tears and have fallen to the ground had Mephiles not holding her. He scooped her up and held her as she sobbed. It seemed that Mephiles had broken her spirit.

"Shhhh, don't cry, little one." he whispered in a now loving tone while nuzzling her bangs. "You'll be much happier with me."

Somehow, Amy seriously doubted it. She doubted that she would ever feel happiness again.


	23. Chapter 23

-Chapter 23-

Meanwhile, back in Soleanna, the rest of the team barely managed to finish off the last of the monsters that threatened the city and its populace. They were starting to notice Sonic's absence and began wondering what become of him.

"Where's Sonic?" Knuckles asked.

"He was here just a minute ago..." Tails murmured.

Before another word was said, a sudden explosion was emitted from the mountains. Spinning around, the heroes were able to catch a glimpse of purple light from the explosive force. The group quickly rushed to the peak to investigate and thus, their question of Sonic's location was answered. The blue hedgehog was lying still and silent as the grave. Tails rushed to him.

"Sonic? Sonic!" he cried, shaking his best friend's form.

But the blue blur would not wake. He was slightly covered with bruises.

"I think we should get him medical attention." Rouge said in a serious tone.

The other three males nodded their heads in agreement.

Knuckles and Shadow carried the cyan hedgehog all the way to Tails' Workshop. 2 hours had passed while the other waited to hear in on Sonic's condition. Then the kitsune walked out of the medical bay in a solemn mood.

"It looks like Sonic's in a coma." he sadly announced.

Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge were shocked and speechless. Something happening like this should be inconceivable.

"Is he alright?" Rouge asked.

"He seems to be stable." Tails explained. "Although I need to keep a close eye on him in case eye on him in case if that changes."

"Will he get out of it?" Knuckles also asked.

"That, I'm not sure." Tails replied. "It may take a while for him to wake up."

The group turned and made uncertain expressions as they watched a stupor Sonic breathe through a breathing mask.

3 months later, the world had gotten a lot darker. Mephiles had taken over most of Soleanna and was starting in on Station Square. Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge rose up in arms against the horde of monsters that demon unleashed. Tails kept a constant vigil on Sonic, who was still in a deep coma. He had not awakened since he was found near death. Shadow and Knuckles were started to doubt that he ever would wake up.

As for Amy, she was still M.I.A. Now she was starting to be considered 'presumed dead'. While this was very untrue, Amy was wishing she was. In the past three months she lived in miserable circumstances. It was a constant nightmare being with Mephiles. When he wasn't busy destroying things and causing mayhem, the demon would come and torment her. The demon never left her a moment's place. Once, Amy pushed to a breaking point, contemplated suicide, but since her mind was connected to Mephiles' he stopped her before the sakura hedgehog had even carried it out. She then tried running away from but she never even made it outside and received quite a hasty punishment. It was there, Amy knew there was no escaping the demon. The poor girl cried every day with hope at a complete lost. She dreaded every hour that she had to spend with Mephiles.

To add to the torment, Amy's belly was slowly becoming a baby bump. And it also hurt. The cherry-pink female could actually feel the child growing and taking shape inside her. This was what gartered Mephiles' attention the most. He practically marveled at the baby's growth with each passing week and made sure that both mother and child were healthy and safe. The demon kept a constant eye on Amy and made sure that she didn't intentionally or unintentionally get into any danger. Even though he was an evil demon, he seemed to have to have a sacred softness for his sakura charge.

Three months of living under Mephiles' 'roof' were starting to take their toll on Amy. With no help coming or in sight, she started to resign herself to her fate. Though Amy still couldn't quite understand why or how this happened. How or why did things get so bad this fast? She terribly missed her friends even though there was no going back as Mephiles cruelly pointed out to her earlier. Sitting alone in a small chamber, Amy gave a heavy sigh and buried in her knees.

Not far from Station Square, a pair was entering the city limits. They were Vanilla and Cream the Rabbit. Right away, they could sense a harsh change in the city. It was certainly somewhat different from when they left on holiday.

"Mother," Cream said softly. "why does it seem so strange around here?"

"Why, I'm not quite sure, Cream." Vanilla replied.

Suddenly, both females were ambushed by a fiery orange biter and they let out a terrified scream. Before the monster could lunge out and attack, Knuckles came out of nowhere and beat the beast to ashes upon the ground.

"You two alright?" the crimson echidna asked the rabbits. "Sorry we couldn't have a better 'welcome back' for you."

"Yes," Vanilla rasped. "thank you, Knuckles and that's quite alright."

"What was that?" Cream breathlessly asked.

Knuckles made a face at the young girl's question.

"Maybe you should come to Tails' Workshop." he told them. "I'll explain on the way."

The three made their way to the kitsune's place. Knuckles had told them what had happened while the Rabbits were away. Both Vanilla and Cream were aghast and horrified. Cream was especially upset to learn that her best friend was M.I.A and presumed dead.

"But, we haven't given up looking for her." Tails implied, trying to cheer Cream up.

"What about Mr. Sonic?" she had asked.

"He's been in a coma for a while." Rouge said. "We're not sure if he'll ever wake up."

Meanwhile, as Vanilla and Cream were trying to unwind from their trip, the blue blur was lying in one of the medical beds with his form still and quiet.

Then, his emerald eyes began to slowly flicker open.


	24. Chapter 24

-Chapter 24-

Tails walked down the hall towards the medical bay to check up on Sonic. When he got there, the saffron fox was ever in for a surprise. The blue hedgehog was awake and looking around in confusion. Immediately, Tails rushed over to Sonic's bedside.

"Sonic!" he cried. "You're awake!"

"Mnnrrrgg...not so loud, Tails." Sonic grumbled.

"H-how...how do you feel?"

Like crap. Where am I?"

"The medical bay of my Workshop."

Sonic continued to look around in confusion. His head was really fuzzy and his mind seemed blank.

"How long was I out?" Sonic asked.

"About three months." Tails answered.

Sonic blinked.

"Damn." he rasped.

Sonic tried to sit up, groaning while doing so, prompting Tails to try and stop him.

"Whoa, hold on Sonic!" he cried. "You're still kinda weak."

"Weak, schmeak." Sonic retorted, fully sitting up. "I've been through bigger scrapes than this. So what's going on?"

Tails made a sour face.

"That guy, Mephiles has nearly taken over everything." the kitsune said solemnly. "His turning this place into a nightmare. He's becoming worse than Eggman!"

Sonic had to smirk at this. Up until then, he couldn't imagine anyone else but himself beating Eggman at anything. Then, the cyan hedgehog suddenly remembered his sakura counterpart.

"Hey Tails," Sonic rasped. "...what's happened to Amy? Is she alright?"

Tails made an even more sour expression.

"We...couldn't find her, Sonic." he replied lowly. "In fact, we haven't seen her in the past couple of months. Knuckles is starting to think...she's dead."

There was a moment of silence. Then Sonic started straining to get up.

"Sonic! What are you doing?" Tails cried. "You're still not well enough!"

"I don't care." Sonic rebuked. "I gotta put a stop to this once and for all."

Sonic then limped his way into the main computer room of the Workshop. Everyone else that was there, drew back in surprise and shock at the sight of him.

"Sonic!" Rouge gasped. "You're awake!"

"You okay? How do you feel?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm just fine." Sonic said sluggishly.

He walked right past them and nearly out the door.

"Wait a minute," Rouge protested. "where are you going?"

"To Soleanna." Sonic simply said. "There's a demon's ass I need to kick."

"Hold on, Sonic." Knuckles said in a stern voice. "You're not going on your own in your condition."

"I will. Watch me."

"WILL YOU JUST WAIT A MINUTE?"

Both echidna and hedgehog gave each other death glares. Tails got in between both of them.

"Now hold on, guys." he said. "Before you kill each other, I might have an idea that'll make you both happy."

The two males paused from engaging each other and let the young kit have his say.

"Now that Sonic is awake," Tails began. "we enough people to execute a retrieval mission for Amy."

"Uh, you do know that Amy could be dead by now?" Knuckles interjected.

"Hush Knux." Rouge snapped.

"Anyway," Tails continued. "we can put together a team in which half of us will distract Mephiles, and the other half will find and retrieve Amy. Granted we may need a few chaos emeralds to back us up."

"Not a problem." Rouge said. "Shadow has the violet one."

"And I have the cyan one." Tails added.

There was a brief moment of quietness within the group.

"Alright then." Sonic said. "It looks like we have ourselves a plan."

Back in Soleanna, much of the sky darkened with big, black thunder clouds. In the old castle, purple and light blue crystals had covered it beyond any recognition. Mephiles was sitting in the tattered throne room watching two of his biters hiss and roar at each other until they finally broke into a fight. They wrestled each other to the ground until Mephiles got bored with the action. He decided to bring up his female companion. An area of the ground lit up and suddenly Amy appeared. She looked around in confusion until she realized where she was.

"Why don't you come and sit with me, my dear?" he said in a sickly sweet tone.

Amy gave a look of absolute dread, but complied to his request. He would drag her over to him anyway. The cherry-pink female slowly walked over to the demon, being careful of her baby bump and sat down on a large crystal just below where Mephiles was sitting. Amy did her best to ignore him and tried focusing on something else. While Mephiles was running his fingers through her fur and quills as if she was his pet kitten, Amy drew her attention to the little life inside her. Her stomach had been hurting ever since the fetus inside took shape. She kept rubbing her belly to dull the pain. Her attention was suddenly caught by the two biters still duking it out, until Mephiles fired crystals at them, making Amy jump.

"Enough." the demon boomed strictly.

The two beasts lowered their heads and slunked away, whining while doing so. Amy promptly returned her focus to her belly. She was torn between the pros and cons of this pregnancy. Whenever she felt it moving or nudging from within, Amy couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. But the baby's father and the very pregnancy itself, preventing her to return to her friends was making Amy feel very depressed. Mephiles, still feeling very bored and sensing Amy's moodiness, decided to play with her. She was so busy worrying about her baby bump, that Amy became quite startled when she was suddenly lifted up out of her seat, and right into Mephiles' lap. Amy was not pleased.

"Let me go!" she wailed.

The sakura hedgehog scrambled and aimlessly tried punching him with no success. The demon simply got ahold of her wrists and watched her squirm to get away. He then started stroking the mark he made at the base of her neck to get her to stop her childishness. Amy let out a gasp and went limp. The mark began to glow, making the young flower shiver.

"See now, all this stress is not good for a mother-to-be." Mephiles cooed.

Amy glared at him with a 'go to hell' look to which the demon simply kissed her. Poor Amy tried to get away from him but it wasn't any use. Resistance was futile. Until the crystals around them began to glow very brightly and hum a shrill noise making Amy jump. Mephiles immediately teleported her back to the area in which she was previously. Then he marched towards what was causing the disturbance.

Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow were charging through the vast and deep tunnels of a cavern they entered. It led towards the old castle and to the very core of Mephiles' hide out. They blew away any monster that got in their way. That was until Mephiles finally confronted them, looking quite angry.

"I'd thought by now you all have learned your lesson." he hissed. "Perhaps I should not be so lenient."

"Bite me!" Knuckles exclaimed lunging at the demon.

Mephiles easily dodged him but was quickly intercepted by both Tails and Shadow. A fierce battle ensued. Three against one. Seemed like a sure thing, but Mephiles being a demon, was a little challenging. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mephiles, Sonic was also searching the tunnels for Amy Rose. He tried to remember the route he took before, but his head began to hurt each time he tried. His vision also started to blur.

'Damn. This coma's got me pegged.' he thought.

But he refused to give up. He refused to be slow. Sonic pushed himself beyond the limit. The blue blur continued on his way. The crystals shrilly humming made Sonic unnerved. He kept thinking that something was going to jump out at him. Proceeding with caution, he suddenly heard tiny footsteps. Quickly, Sonic hid behind a large crystal. The steps got louder and louder and soon there was a shadow falling onto the ground. Sonic narrowed his emerald eyes bracing himself for whatever comes. His narrowed orbs soon widened in shock. Coming down the hall-like tunnel, was Amy. She was walking cautiously and kept looking over her shoulder. Sonic immediately stepped out from the shadows and into the female's path. Amy gasped in shock and disbelief when she saw him. A total loss for words and frozen in place.

"Wha...wha...what are you doing here?" Amy cried.

"What kind of question is that?" Sonic said.

The blue blur rushed forward and gave her a big hug. Amy tried pushing him away.

"Sonic...stop." she stammered. "please...just get out of here while you still can."

Sonic looked aghast. Shocked at her words.

"Amy...what are you saying? he questioned.

"Get out of here, Sonic. Please!" Amy wailed.

With that, she promptly took off, trying to run fast and mind her baby bump simultaneously. Sonic easily caught up with her.

Amy, wait." he said sternly.

"Sonic, please...just go!" Amy whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears.

"No. Not again. I'm not leaving without you."

Amy crossed her legs, buried her face in her hands and simply began bawling. Sonic softened up a bit and slowly approached her. He took the young flower in his arms. Amy wailed like a little child into his chest and trembled fiercely.

"What did he do to you, Amy?" Sonic whispered.

The female hedgehog hiccupped and whimpered before responding.

"You'll...you'll hate me." she rasped.

"What makes you think I will?" Sonic inquired.

There was a moment of silence between them before Amy, with one deep breath, broke it.

"I'm pregnant, Sonic." she said in a tiny voice.

Sonic's eyes widened. Amy resumed her sobbing, feeling absolutely terrible. After a few short minutes, Sonic's face softened a bit and carefully scooped up the young female. Amy blinked confusingly and watched him pull out a cyan chaos emerald.

"Chaos control." Sonic whispered.

In a flash, they were gone.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Okay, I've gotten a review hoping that this doesn't turn into Sonamy. Well I'm very sorry to disappoint but that's the way it's gonna be. If you don't like then you don't have to read it. Thank You and Peace Out.**

* * *

><p>-Chapter 25-<p>

Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow were still engaged in a fierce battle with Mephiles and his minions. The demon was pushing hard to get rid of the trio of whom was disturbing his peace of mind. They were becoming much more of a nuisance to him than ever. Then, Mephiles ultimately decided to kill them all off right then and there. He caused the tunnel to quake violently, making rocks and crystals fall onto the ground like rain. Quickly, Shadow teleported Tails, Knuckles, and himself to a safer area, a little off from where Mephiles was standing. Tails suddenly got a signal beeping from his wrist communicator.

"It's Sonic!" he cried. "He says he's found Amy!"

Knuckles and Shadow exchanged glances.

"We need to at least give Sonic some time to get out of here." Knuckles said.

Shadow gave a nod. The trio continued towards Mephiles. However, the demon did not care to have another round of brawling so he caused another quake. It caused the tunnel to cave in on the path between them and Mephiles. The emitting dust caused all three of them to start coughing.

"Dammit!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"There's nothing more we can do here." Shadow told him. "Let's go."

The other two reluctantly agreed and Shadow pulled out his purple chaos emerald and teleported them all out of the cave to the surface.

Sonic sped through the lush forest of Kingdom Valley. In his arms was a silent and deadpan Amy. She seemed somewhat emotionless after revealing her pregnancy to the cyan hedgehog. The real reason she wasn't talking, was that Amy feared what Sonic might say in reply if she said anything. In fact, she was scared to death of where Sonic was taking her, and what would happen from there. Amy had long since stopped crying, but these thoughts taunting and tormenting her mind were causing fresh tears to well up in her jade orbs. Sonic could feel her trembling again. He had to wonder what kind of awful thoughts that sick demon stuffed into Amy's head.

With that, the blue blur decided to make a brief detour. Since they were quite far from the old castle, it wouldn't hurt to stop. There was a large tree ahead of them, so Sonic went over to it and sat against the huge trunk. He cradle the sakura female in his arms, trying to make her comfortable. Amy was still shaking in quite a fright. Sonic looked at her and saw she had her eyes shut tight, her ears flat against her head, and sort of curled up in his hold.

"Hey," Sonic called out softly. "you okay?"

The cherry-pink hedgehog opened her eyes slightly but remained quiet.

"Why?" Sonic said again.

Amy looked up at him in confusion.

"Wha-what do you mean?" she asked.

"Why didn't you tell me that guy was seriously hassling you?" Sonic questioned her. "If I had known-"

"What difference would it make?" Amy muttered bitterly.

"A big difference. Amy, don't you get it? I care about you. A lot more than you think...and more than I dared to hope."

Amy was speechless. There was only one thing on her mind.

"Then..."

"Then what Amy?"

"...then...then why were you with...that other girl?"

Sonic's emerald eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that what this is about?" he asked gently. "Amy, she was just an old friend of mine. Our relationship is like the one I have with Tails. There's nothing going on between us."

Now Amy felt like a total fool. She had been feeling depressed about Sonic over nothing. But she still felt bad about her ordeal with Mephiles and the fact she was carrying his child. Although hearing that Sonic wasn't involved with that other girl was nice, it still didn't change anything.

"Sonic, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I can't go back home." Amy murmured. "You might as well take me back underground."

That was it. Sonic had heard enough. He did the only thing that have Amy get it into her head that she wasn't going anywhere without him.

"Sonic? What are you-mmph!"

Amy gasped when she felt Sonic's lips brush gently against her own. A deep blush formed on her face. Her mind practically exploded with a million frantic thoughts.

'Wha-what the hell is he doing?'

Pretty soon however, Amy started to melt in the embrace. She was always a sucker for Sonic's charms and she couldn't quite help herself. The female hedgehog slowly wrapped her arms around the blue male's neck. Sonic pressed himself further into the young flower. Amy started to moan. Then, regaining her senses, she tried pushing him away. But Sonic was quite insistent. Finally, he released her, allowing both of them to get much needed air.

"Stop, Sonic." Amy rasped. "Can we not kid ourselves? Or did you forget that I'm...you know.."

"I didn't forget." Sonic said honestly. He also sounded like he didn't care. "Come on, let's get you home."

"But, Sonic..."

"No buts Amy."

And just like that, the blue blur scooped up the young female and took off. Amy was scared about what the others would say when they found out about her 'precious' cargo. The pondering of it all made her feel extremely nervous. To top it off, she was worried about Mephiles finding out that she was no longer in his lair. Her fears about that were suddenly confirmed.

'Where are you, my flower?'

Amy was still hearing his voice in her head. She gave a whimper and buried her face into Sonic's chest, quietly weeping.

Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow legged it back to Tails' Workshop in Station Square without attracting anymore danger. Rouge, Vanilla, and Cream were there patiently waiting for them.

"Oh! You're back!" Cream cried. "But where's Mr. Sonic?"

The rest of the group exchanged nervous glances.

"He didn't come back yet?" Knuckles asked.

"Oh wait, I think that's him over there!" Vanilla exclaimed, pointing towards the horizon.

Bursting down the up-hill street, was the speed demon himself. And in his arms was Amy Rose. In almost no time at all, he was standing on Tails' doorstop.

"Sonic! You're okay!" Tails cried.

"Never mind about me." Sonic interjected while rushing into the workshop. "She needs medical attention, like yesterday!"

Sonic carried the sakura female to the medical ward, followed closely by Tails, Vanilla, and Cream. Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles remained in the main room.

"And you thought she was died." Rouge sneered at Knuckles who gave her a glare.


	26. Chapter 26

-Chapter 26-

The rest of the afternoon was somewhat quiet. Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, and Tails were discussing on what to do about Mephiles next. Meanwhile, Sonic, Cream, and Vanilla were keeping a non-stop vigil on a now sleeping Amy. After Tails got her set up in his infirmary, she fell asleep, being greatly exhausted. The sakura hedgehog wasn't going to leave Sonic's sights after all that had happened.

Even though she was fast asleep, Amy had a difficult time keeping it that way. Her mind was doing a good job in playing tricks on her. The young female was having frequent visions of Mephiles tormenting her in every way possible. Finally, not being able to take it anymore, Amy fluttered her eyes open. Her vision was a bit blurry, but it was enough to remind her where she was. She quickly buried her head into the pillow she rested on and turned onto her side to make the others think she was still asleep. Amy could hear Vanilla and Cream exchanging comments to each other. Cream sounded very worried about her friend's condition. Amy wondered if Sonic was there. She hadn't heard his voice at all. She also had to wonder if he had told them about her pregnancy. By the sound of Vanilla and Cream's chit-chat, it didn't seem like they knew. Thank God.

Meanwhile, back at Soleanna, Mephiles was staring unemotionally at the empty chamber in which he had kept his mate in. Not helping but feel an empty void build up inside him because of her absense. However, he wasn't too worried about her safety. Those goody-goodies that stole her away from him had too much morale to compromise the fruitation of his seed inside her. Getting Amy back wouldn't be too much of a problem anyway. What with playing with the cherry pink female's head and beating the life of those pathetic imbeciles.

Mephiles had to wonder if Shadow made much of the memories the demon had implanted in him. Perhaps it was time to pay him a visit, And if he was lucky, Mephiles would be able to successfully lead the ebony hedgehog astray this time. The sun was starting to set when Mephiles decided to take off from his hideout. He went straight to Station Square. Searching throughout the city for the Ultimate Lifeform.

Shadow had gone out for a walk. It was actually him jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Sitting around doing nothing but listen Rouge and Knuckles exchange conversation wasn't in his interests. The night sky above him was being blinded out by the bright city lights. It gave Shadow a feeling of nostalgia. He had been here once before. Only he was the villain and everyone at Tails' Workshop was his enemy. Except maybe Rouge. But that was a long time ago.

Suddenly, Shadow sensed that he wasn't alone. He looked to his left and right and saw nothing. That alone didn't stop him from being suspicious. He continued on his way as though he were trying to escape or lure out whatever or whoever was apparently tailing him. Even though he covered quite a lot of distance, Shadow could still feel a presence stalking him. It was like it was mocking him now. About this time anyone else would have gone back to base, but not Shadow. He wanted to ferret out and confront whatever was after him. Then, the demon abruptly appeared out of nowhere before him. Shadow narrowed his blood-red eyes.

"Hello, Shadow." Mephiles sneered.

Amy hadn't moved from her position since she woke up. Maintaining it was pretty hard though. She was starting to get stiff. Amy still hoped that Vanilla and Cream were thinking she was still asleep. But Sonic wasn't fooled. He had seen Amy do this before in one of her 'pouting jags'. The cerulean hedgehog waited until Vanilla and Cream decided to leave for a quick bite to eat before going inside the room in which his sakura counterpart was in. He then grabbed a chair and sat beside her bed.

"I know you're awake, Amy." Sonic said in a somewhat scolding tone.

Amy flinched, then let out a big sigh. She slowly turned herself over to face Sonic, not looking at him. Sonic noticed that she was holding her stomach in a rather gingerly way.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

Amy blinked.

"Does what hurt?" she stammered.

"Your stomach silly." Sonic replied.

Amy made a face. Clearly she wasn't comfortable about discussing the condition of her belly. Sonic leant forward and rubbed it gently. It felt a little hard to him. Amy blushed madly. Then after remembering who the father was, her ears drooped.

"What am I going to do?" she said quietly.

"What do you want to do?" Sonic asked her.

"I don't know. I really don't know. I'm scared."

There was a brief silence between the two.

"Did you tell the others?" Amy asked nervously.

"No." Sonic said honestly. "And I won't unless if you want me to. But I think you should tell them. They're going to start noticing anyway."

He was right. The rest of the gang would notice that something is up when Amy's stomach gets larger. The only thing that was bothering her was what their reaction will be.

"I don't think I can do it, Sonic." Amy said in a tiny voice.

"Why not?" Sonic asked.

"What if...What if they get mad at me?"

"I didn't get mad. And why would they get mad?"

"Well let's see, I'm carrying the child of a monster."

Sonic made a really stern face at that bitter remark.

"That'll be enough of that." he told her. "I don't ever want you talking like that again, Amy. Understand?"

The sakura hedgehog gave a slow nod and a single tear fell from her eye. Sonic wiped it away with his thumb and proceed to stroke her muzzle with it. Amy could feel her emotions running wild. Soon more tears started running down her face. Sonic could tell what was coming up and wrapped his arms around Amy's now trembling frame. A second didn't pass before the young flower had another breakdown. Vanilla and Cream returned shortly thereafter and immediately became concerned.

"What happened?" Cream asked.

"Nothing, Cream." Sonic quietly replied. "She'll be alright."


	27. Chapter 27

-Chapter 27-

Shadow stared straight into the eyes of the demon before him. There was an eerie silence between them. As though one was waiting for the other to speak up. Finally, Shadow broke the silence.

"Why did you put those memories inside my mind?" The ebony hedgehog asked.

Mephiles cocked his head.

"You still don't realize?" he asked. "Poor fool."

"Enough nonsense, now tell me!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Now, now. Don't get erratic. You do not remember me because the time space continuum erased those past events thanks to you, the blue creature, and another soul."

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"But, I am willing to give you another chance." Mephiles continued.

Shadow stiffened up.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he exclaimed again.

"I offered you a chance to get back at humanity for all the wrong they've done you." Mephiles told him.

Shadow was silent. He could see that event play in his mind clearly. It was like remembering something he forgot long ago.

"So how 'bout it, Shadow?" Mephiles inquired.

Shadow stared at him with a menacing look. Even though the offer was still quite tempting, the Ultimate Lifeform would not be put under the thumb of the likes of Mephiles.

"I will not." Shadow said boldly.

Mephiles made a sour look and transformed into his demonic form. Shadow was then surrounded by the demon's familiars.

"You are a fool, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Mephiles hissed.

Shadow did not care to listen. He was ready for him.

"Oh my gosh!" Cream cried in shock. "You're what?"

Amy made a sour face. Definitely not the reaction she wanted.

"Not so loud, Cream." Vanilla scolded. "It's rude and unlady like."

"Sorry, mother." Cream replied in a soft voice. Then she turned back to Amy. "So...is it a boy or a girl?"

Amy forgot how Cream could be so innocent sometimes. Sonic however found Cream's question a little funny.

"I'm not sure yet, Cream." Amy said quietly staring at her feet.

"How do you feel about this, Amy?" Vanilla asked.

"Awful." Amy retorted.

Sonic frowned at her and Cream threw her a shocked look.

"Why?" Cream asked.

"I think we should ask Amy questions later, Cream." Vanilla interjected after seeing the cherry-pink hedgehog look as if she were about to burst into tears.

"Okay. Well anyway, I'm really happy for you, Amy." Cream said.

'There's nothing to be happy about.' Amy thought. She almost said it aloud but Sonic was sitting right next to her.

Just then, Rouge stepped into the room and looked around.

"You guys seen Shadow anywhere?" the female bat asked.

"Not really." Sonic replied. "Wasn't he with you?"

"He was, but now I can't that guy anywhere."

"Hmmm. Lets go ask Tails."

Sonic rose out of his chair and fellow Rouge into the hallway, leaving Amy and the two rabbits behind. They found the twin-tailed fox with Knuckles.

"Hey Knux," Sonic called out. "you've seen Shads anywhere?"

"I saw him walk out of here a while ago." Knuckles replied.

That was odd. But it was also like Shadow to do something like that.

"You think we go looking for him?" Rouge asked.

"Ehhhh, maybe he just went out for a breather." Sonic suggested.

Sonic's suggestion was far from the actual truth. Shadow and Mephiles were duking it out on the sky scrapers outside. Shadow's energy was slowing getting sapped from the battle. Mephiles on the other hand was just full of energy. Reabsorbing Iblis' gave Mephiles an infinite amount of power. He slammed the ebony around the building around them.

"Heh, you call yourself 'the Ultimate Lifeform'?" the demon mocked.

Shadow glared at him with his trademark death glare. He fired Chaos Spears at the demon. He managed to strike Mephiles in the arm and knocked him down. Shadow approached the demon, ready to give the final blow. But Mephiles sneakily fired a purple energy orb at the crimson splashed hedgehog, causing him to fly towards the other end. Groaning, Shadow quickly got to his feet. He knew then knew that he had no other choice but to unleash his full power by removing his inhibitor rings. Mephiles, seeing this, cocked his head again.

"So, going all out are you?" he sneered. "How interesting."

Shadow removed his rings and began to glow red like the moon above them. Mephiles copied him and charged at Shadow. When they collided, their powers and aura created huge electrical bolts, causing the lights in some buildings to go out. Shadow landed on his feet, gasping. Mephiles landed on a roof top gracefully.

"I'm getting quite bored now." Mephiles said. "I think I'll finish you off and retrieve my mate."

Shadow growled at the demon and charged at him again. Mephiles threw a purple orb at the midnight hedgehog, sending him into another building with a crash. When Shadow landed on the ground, that was it. His energy was gone and in desperate need of replenishing. Mephiles walked over to him and lifted the weakened hedgehog by the neck.

"You know, I'm REALLY going to enjoy this." Mephiles sneered evilly with a fanged grin.

"Alright this is getting ridicules." Sonic ranted. "Where the heck is Shadow?"

"You were the one who said we shouldn't worry." Rouge pointed out.

"Well I didn't say that in those words exactly."

"You think we should go look for him?" Tails asked.

"That's probably what we're going to end up doing." Knuckles remarked blandly.

Before the issue could be resolved, a sudden loud crash was heard. All four of them rushed to the other room and found none other than Shadow the Hedgehog beaten, bruised, and unconscious on the floor with shards of broken glass around him. The window above him was also broken.

"Shadow!" Rouge cried.

Then they heard villainous and hysterical laughter. It was Mephiles hovering in the air.

"MWRAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" the demon laughed. "Well he got what he deserved. Now let's talk about you fools. You've stolen something from me and I'd like to have her back."


	28. Chapter 28

-Chapter 28-

The group was now faced with Mephiles treacherous power. They only had a split second to decide what to do.

"Knuckles quick, grab Shadow." Sonic exclaimed. "Get everyone else outta here, I'll cover you!"

"Hang on," Rouge interjected. "I'll take care of Shadow and Knuckle can help you."

The crimson echidna and cerulean hedgehog exchanged glances and then nodded at Rouge. They engaged Mephiles while Tails and Rouge carried Shadow into the hall.

"So I'm stuck dealing with you?" Mephiles groaned. "How annoying..."

"Basterd!" Knuckles exclaimed. "You're gonna pay for what you did to Shadow!"

"I believe I've heard that one before." Mephiles evilly quipped. "But I'm wasting my time with small talk."

Mephiles then fired crystal lances at the pair . Both Knuckles and Sonic were quick to dodge them, but it was difficult in such a small space. The demon entered the Workshop causally and caused some of the lights to go out. Sonic curled up into a ball and launched himself at Mephiles. The blue blur managed to knock him a few feet away and Knuckles gave him a flurry of punches. Both he and Sonic quickly regrouped as Mephiles laid motionless on the ground.

"Did we get him?" Knuckles asked.

A moment later, the walls and the duo were suddenly surrounded by roaring flames. Mephiles then slowly got up and cricked his neck very loudly.

"Since you pests won't surrender my mate, I'm forced to take drastic measures." the demon hissed.

The flames began to spread rapidly causing a danger to everyone else inside. Sonic and Knuckles were starting to quickly run out of options.

"Sonic, I have an idea." Knuckles said. "Go grab everybody and head out the back, I'll cover you!"

"Wait a minute, Knux..." Sonic protested.

"Just do it! Trust me!"

Sonic stared at him for a brief second then nodded in agreement. He sped into the back hall where Rouge, Tails and the rest of the gang were waiting in the infirmary. Smoke was starting to set in through the air vents.

"What's going on, Sonic?" Tails cried.

"We need to get out of here!" Sonic breathlessly told them. "The building's on fire!"

"Wait, what about Knuckles?" Rouge asked.

"He said he would cover us," Sonic explained. "now we need to get the hell out of here!"

They all nodded in agreement and began exit the Workshop. Vanilla and Cream were the first to leave through the back door, being guided by Tails. Then, the kitsune came back and helped Rouge carry Shadow-who was still unconscious-outside. Sonic wasted no time in quickly scooping up his sakura counterpart. Amy threw him a worried look to which Sonic gave her a quick peck on her nose. They all rushed outside as the fire grew larger and larger. Meanwhile, Knuckles was left behind to face the crystal clad demon alone.

"So," Mephiles purred devilishly. "had your friends leave you to die in flames? How noble of you."

Knuckles was not amused.

"Cut the bullshit, you sick basterd." the crimson echidna cursed. "What the hell do you want Amy for anyway?"

The demon cocked his head.

"Ahhh." he sneered. "I see she hasn't told you yet."

Knuckles narrowed his furious amethyst eyes.

"Well since you're going to die anyway," Mephiles continued. "why not tell you? Your precious little Rose happens to carrying MY offspring deep inside her."

Knuckles expression went from concentration to utter shock. Was Mephiles trying to tell him that Amy was pregnant? And with his child? The male echidna was torn between accepting this revelation or not believe it. The demon all the while was having fun with this.

"Yes, echidna." Mephiles sneered. "You're not only defending my mate, but you're also defending my 'little creation'."

"YOU MONSTER!" Knuckles roared.

He launched himself at the demon and started punching the living daylights out of him. Mephiles easily swatted him away sending him toward the other end of the hall. As the ruby echidna slammed into the wall, flaming debris from the ceiling came tumbling down between him and Mephiles. This was the perfect opportunity to escape. Although Knuckles would rather finish the fight, it would be more logical to leave the burning building before he gets seriously injured by the flames. With that, Knuckles reluctantly made a quick exit, dodging all the debris that came raining down from above. Mephiles on the other hand was shielded from the roaring fire and was not pleased to see Knuckles flee.

"Hmph, how cowardly..." he murmured to himself.

Knuckles managed to get through the back door where he was greeted by a panting Rouge.

"Oh good, you're still alive." Rouge rasped. "Are you alright? I came back as quick as I could."

"Where's everyone else?" Knuckles coughed. "Are they okay?"

"Yes. Tails and Sonic took the girls over to Mystic Ruins, and I just took Shadow back to the G.U.N. Headquarters."

Knuckles eyes widened when Rouge told him the location of Sonic and his group.

"They can't go back to Mystic Ruins, Rouge." he said in desperation.

"Why not?" the female bat asked.

"Because, Mephiles has already and it won't hard for him to find Amy there."

"Anything I can do?"

"No, you go back and take care of Shadow. I'll handle this."

Before Knuckles would beat feet towards their location, Tails had driven Vanilla, Cream, Amy, and Sonic on a modified version of his Tornado plane to Mystic Ruins. They landed at Tails Workshop there and piled one by one into the house-like place. Sonic of course, went over to Amy's side and carrying her inside. Sonic cradled an already exhausted Amy into a spare bedroom and laid her down onto a bed.

"You get some rest, Ames." Sonic told her.

"O-okay." Amy said sleepily.

Unbeknownst to them, Mephiles, sitting on a high branch in a nearby tree, was staring straight at the sakura hedgehog through the window of the room. In the Workshop's main room, Vanilla and Cream were settling themselves on a couch.

"I hope Mr. Knuckles is okay." Cream said softly.

"I'm sure he's alright, Cream." Tails said, trying to reassure the young rabbit.

"Yeah, Knuckles is a tough guy." Sonic agreed. "He can pull through anything."

Tails then decided to make himself busy and make everyone warm drinks. Amy was only asleep for half an hour when she suddenly heard the demon's voice in her head.

'...There you are...Amy...'


	29. Chapter 29

-Chapter 29-

The sakura hedgehog jolted up in bed. She frantically looked around, but nothing was there. Amy promptly got out of bed and cautiously moved around the room. She had heard HIS voice again. HE was here. In her room somewhere. Amy stood still to see if she would hear any more noises. Seconds clicked by and there was nothing. The cherry-pink female then turned around to head for the door. Only to see Mephiles instead of a door.

Amy let out a gasp and was about to scream. The demon put a hand to her mouth and instantly took away her voice. She literally couldn't speak or make a sound.

'Wha...What happened to my...'

"Since you can't seem to stop screaming my lovely," Mephiles whispered in the girl's ear. "I'm going to have to take away your little voice for a while."

Then the demon proceeded to lick her neck, causing poor Amy to shudder. She continued to struggle with all her might, trying to at least make some noises to alert the others in the next room. Mephiles however was way ahead of her, and thwarted her feeble attempts. He made a bored and rather annoyed sigh as Amy squirmed in his arms.

"I have to wonder where on earth you get all this energy, my dear." The demon said.

Eventually however, Amy became tired from struggling. The energy she had was quickly sapped from exhaustion. She started to cry. Amy didn't want to go back with this monster. It was bad enough that she was forced to carry his child. Mephiles pulled her closer and began cuddling his cherry-pink mate. He was especially interested in the precious cargo down bellow in her abdomen.

"I've missed you..."Mephiles cruelly whispered in Amy's ear again.

This only made Amy cry harder. She thought she was doomed. Then, miraculously, someone was coming down the hall. It was Sonic. Here was where Mephiles got careless. He was so focused on Amy, that he didn't seem to notice the blue blur's presence. As he made his way towards her room, the demon continued to torment Amy.

"Now then, my sweet." he cooed devilishly. "If you promise to behave, I'll give you your voice back."

Amy had to admit defeat. She didn't have a choice now. After relenting to Mephiles' clutches, he returned her voice into her throat. Then he suddenly realized that they were not alone.

When Sonic came down the hall, he immediately felt and sensed something was not right. It was erringly quiet. He decided to check up on Amy. He got to her room and found the doorknob extremely cold. Feeling vastly suspicious he busted the door open and saw the demon with Amy in his hold.

"AMY!" he cried.

Mephiles pushed the sakura hedgehog aside and attempted to swat Sonic away. However, Sonic managed to block his fist with his own and soon they were locked neck and neck. Amy watched in horror as they fought with each other. Eventually they went flying out the window. Amy let out a cry which was heard by the others out in the main room. Sonic and Mephiles continued to dish it out outside.

"Let. Her. GO!" Sonic hissed.

"You just love to piss me off, don't you blue creature?" Mephiles angrily rasped.

Back inside, Amy was frozen on the floor with shock. Tails, Vanilla, and Cream came rushing in to investigate all the noise.

"What's going on?" Tails exclaimed.

"Oh dear, Amy are you alright?" Vanilla cried when noticing the cherry-pink female on the floor.

"Y-yes." Amy sputtered as Cream and her mother helped her up. "...but Sonic.."

Tails rushed over to the shattered window and saw the demon and the blue blur fighting.

"Stay in here, okay?" he told the girls. "I'm gonna go help Sonic!"

Knuckles was gliding as fast as the wind could carry him. After landing in Mystic Ruins, he immediately took off on foot. Already he was sensing Mephiles' dark aura.

'I hope to God I'm not too late..' he frantically thought.

When he got near Tails' Workshop, he heard fighting. The crimson echidna quickly detoured his course and went towards the sound of battle. After getting a visual on Mephiles, Knuckles charged at him and slugged him right square in the jaw, causing him to fly towards the left.

"Knuckles!" Sonic and Tails both cried.

They rushed to the ruby guardian who was out of breath.

"Where's Amy?" he rasped. "Is she okay?"

"She's alright." Sonic replied.

"Good. Now quick, do you know another area where Amy can hide until we destroy this basterd?"

The cyan hedgehog and saffron fox exchanged glances and nodded.

"Yep." Sonic said.

Knuckles then pulled out the blue chaos emerald.

"Then you take her there, Sonic." he told the hedgehog.

"Why just me?" Sonic asked.

"It'll be safer that way. And using a chaos emerald will make it harder for Mephiles to find Amy."

There was a moment of silence between the trio until an explosion from the demon's crystal lances broke it.

"Alright." Sonic agreed. "You guys be careful."

"Good luck, Sonic!" Tails said.

With that, the blue blur took off.

When Sonic reentered the Workshop, the walls and foundation were shaking from all the ruckus outdoors. He quickly went into the room where Amy was and found her lying on the bed in a stupor, surrounded by Cream and Vanilla.

"Oh, Mr. Sonic!" Cream cried. "Amy fainted while you were outside!"

Sonic's expression softened as he scooped his female counterpart up carefully.

"Knuckles wants me to take her into hiding for a while." he told them. "I wish I could bring you two with me."

Vanilla nodded in understanding but then became a little stern.

"You take extra care of her, Sonic." the female rabbit told him. "All this stress and excitement is good for her right now."

Sonic made a smile and a wink.

"Don't worry, I will." he assured them.

"Goodbye, Mr. Sonic." Cream said, close to tears. "And tell Amy I said goodbye!"

Sonic nodded and then held out his chaos emerald.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

In a flash, he and Amy were gone.


	30. Chapter 30

-Chapter 30-

As Sonic took off with Amy, Knuckles and Tails continued the fight with Mephiles. The demon became extremely irate as he suddenly felt Amy's presence disappear.

"You annoying little worms!" he roared.

He fired a huge orb at the pair which blew the fox and echidna away as it shattered upon impact on the ground.

"I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" Mephiles screeched.

Knuckles and Tails quickly took cover as the crystal-clad hedgehog continued to fire power orbs at them. Suddenly, Tails had an idea.

"Knuckles, if I can get back to the Workshop," the kitsune said. "I might be able to fire a weapon that'll weaken him."

"Alright, I'll cover you." Knuckles replied. "I hope it works."

Tails gave him a nod. He then quickly rushed back to the Workshop where Vanilla and Cream were taking cover.

"You guys head for the basement." the saffron fox told them. "It'll be safer down there."

The two female rabbits nodded and went towards the basement, while covering their heads from falling debris. Tails went upstairs to an observatory and quickly turned on the computers to activate the weapon. Meanwhile, Knuckles was still battling Mephiles outside. The crimson echidna however, was becoming exhausted from the fight.

'Come on, Tails. Hurry up!' he thought.

Mephiles grinned at Knuckles' desperation.

"What's wrong, echidna?" the demon leered. "It seems you're running out of steam."

"No one asked you, basterd!" Knuckles growled.

He continued to throw punches at Mephiles, while the demon kept dodging them. Tails meanwhile, was at his observatory control panel activating a large laser cannon and aiming it at Mephiles. He reached for a microphone that was hooked to a P.A. outside.

"Knuckles!" Tails called out. "Clear the area!"

Knuckles gave Mephiles one final knock-down before sprinting away. Tails then fired the weapon as soon as the echidna was out of the way. The laser beam hit Mephiles and completely enveloped him. By the time the weapon was shut off, the demon was about 5 yards away from where Knuckles was standing. He staggered to his feet, obviously weakened. He stared at the ruby guardian with hate filled eyes.

"You...you will PAY!" Mephiles hissed.

With that, the demon teleported away. Leaving Mystic Ruins.

"Hmph, coward." Knuckles muttered.

Amy slowly fluttered her eyes open. Her vision was a little blurry. As it came into focus, she found herself in a small room with white adobe plaster walls. On the outside, the doors and windows were bordered with blue paint. A faint breeze ruffled the curtains in the room on the window. Amy sat up a little while groaning softly. This alerted another soul in the room with her.

"Hey, you alright?"

It was Sonic. He flew to the sakura hedgehog's side. Amy looked around in confusion.

"Where...?" she rasped.

"Apotos." the blue blur explained. They were there before. When Sonic was turned into a were-hog.

"What happened...?

"Knuckles gave me an emerald and told me to take you somewhere safe."

Amy's eyes widened in shock.

"You mean...we're the only ones here?" she asked.

"Yep." Sonic replied.

Amy tried to sit up a little further, but the cyan male stopped her.

"Whoa, Amy, easy!" he exclaimed. "Just lie down for a bit, okay?"

The cherry-pink female let out a whine.

"But...Sonic..."

"No buts, Amy. Lie down." Sonic softly ordered.

Amy let out another whine but obliged to Sonic's commands. She started to pout.

"You're so pushy!" she whimpered.

"Shh. Shhhhh." Sonic cooed, gently stroking her muzzle with his thumb. "Relax, Ames."

The female hedgehog let out a sigh as she laid back. Sonic continued to stroke her muzzle.

"How are you feeling right now?" the cobalt hedgehog asked.

"Groggy." Amy replied.

"And what about Junior here?"

Amy lifted her head a little, and saw Sonic gently rubbing her baby bump.

"'Junior'?" she questioned, cocking her head confusingly.

"Yeah." Sonic replied. "Anything wrong with that?"

"No, but how do you know it's gonna be a boy? Or a girl for that matter?"

"I don't. It could as well turn out to be a mini-you. Hence, 'Junior'."

Amy rolled her eyes. She could always count on him to be all cocky like that.

"Anyway, you haven't answered my question." Sonic continued.

"Well, I don't know." Amy replied. "I guess its okay."

There was a moment of silence between them.

"Hmmm. Maybe tomorrow, I'll take you to a local doctor around here to get you checked out or something." Sonic suggested.

Amy made a wry face.

"Okay." she said softly.

Amy rubbed her face into her hands, groaning. She shuddered at her close call with Mephiles. The imagination of being trapped with him was too horrifying to think about.

'Why can't that monster just leave me alone?' Amy thought.

Not only was the sakura hedgehog worried about Mephiles' relentless campaign to have her as his, but she also had his child on the way. Amy had to wonder what the hell was going to happen when the baby was born. She was still trembling when she suddenly felt the blue blur's arms wrap around her frame.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You're shaking again."

"I'm...I'm just scared." Amy whispered.

Sonic then tried to play therapist.

"Why?" he asked again.

"You know why, Sonic." Amy replied in a stern voice.

"Yeah, but why should you be? Don't you trust me to protect you?"

Amy raised an eyebrow at her blue counterpart to which Sonic responded to by kissing her nose.

"You shouldn't worry so much, Amy." he said, stroking her quills.

The cherry-pink hedgehog let out another whine as she brought her knees to her chest and partially buried her face into them.

"How long are we gonna be here, Sonic?" she asked.

"As long as it takes." Sonic replied with a shrug. "And as for you, you're not leaving my sights again. Ever."

Amy let out a little growl. She hated being babysitted. Sonic of course sensed her irritation and knew it all too well.

"Come on, Ames." Sonic said. "I know this isn't easy, but at least have a little faith."

The sakura female let out one big sigh.

"Okay, Sonic."


	31. Chapter 31

-Chapter 31-

Two weeks went by. The chase went into a complete circle. The Sonic Team and Team Dark were out chasing Mephiles, and Mephiles was out chasing Sonic and Amy. The demon was searching high and low for the female hedgehog, destroying anything or anyone that got in his way. Knuckles, Tails, and Team Dark were making it their business to find and destroy Mephiles once and for all.

Meanwhile, Amy could only sit and wait. That is, hide and hope Mephiles never finds her. Sonic had taken her to see a local doctor in Apotos and it turned out that the baby inside her was doing just fine and growing naturally. It was a little too early to determine gender at this point however. Sonic had kept to his word about keeping her safe and not letting her out of his sight. They took walks along the small town and remained indoors by the late evening. Sonic rarely slept but he made sure Amy got enough rest. Overtime, her belly became bigger and bigger as the life within grew and grew.

Sometimes Amy could feel the baby inside moving around and nudging at her. Sonic started playfully teasing Amy by calling the unborn infant, 'Amy's lil' Nudger'.

In the weeks that had passed, Mephiles searched relentlessly all over the world for his sakura mate. Every time his search came up empty, he destroyed the area and reduced it to ashes. The demon attempted to reach out to her, but each time he tried, she was just a little too far away to be reached. Mephiles was ready to destroy the entire planet because he couldn't seem to locate the young flower. That didn't stop him from trying to find her through telepathy.

But as long as Mephiles was far away, Amy could at least have some peace of mind.

The sun slowly over the sea in which Apotos sat on. Songbirds quickly filled the air with their morning tunes. They awoke a snoozing cyan hedgehog. He cracked on emerald eye open and looked out of the window he sat on. The skyline was absolutely gorgeous this morning. Amy meanwhile was still very fast asleep. She had been sleeping a lot more often lately. But Sonic didn't mind too much. At least she wasn't throwing up anymore.

The blue hedgehog got up from his perch and roamed around the room a little bit. That was one of his weak points. He couldn't stay in one place. Pretty soon, the blue blur felt it was time for Amy to start the day as well. He quietly went to her bed and gently shook her.

"Wake up, little rosebud." Sonic whispered teasingly.

Amy's ears twitched and she fluttered her jade orbs open. Yawning, she got up and stretched.

"Morning." she mumbled.

"And how are we this morning?" Sonic asked.

"Sleepy."

The cherry-pink female rubbed the crusting that had formed overnight out of her eyes.

"You think we can contact the others today?" Amy asked.

"We might." Sonic replied.

Since they were in hiding, they had to have limited contact with the rest of the gang. Just in case if Mephiles was listening into their conversations.

"So what are we do have planned for today?" Amy asked again.

"Hmmm, I let you pick." Sonic replied.

Back at Station Square, the city had come close to being leveled by Mephiles. Shadow was finally back on his feet, doing extensive research on a method they could use to destroy Mephiles for good. So far, the ebony hedgehog had come up with ways to seal him inside a virtual prison. Sounded like a good idea, but Shadow didn't want to have to wait a few more years before the demon could suddenly be released and go on another rampage. Especially if someone like Dr. Eggman gained any interest in his powers.

Rouge later joined Shadow in the computer room with a few in her arms.

"Here's the reading material you wanted me to get." she said.

Shadow gave her a head nod as the female but plopped the books onto the table behind him. Every minute of researching made him more frustrated. He remembered that he and Sonic had taken Mephiles down before, but he couldn't remember how exactly. Rouge watched him get more and more worked up.

"For crying out loud, Shadow." she protested. "Take a break or something."

"I'm not taking a break until I find what I am looking for." he replied in a stern voice.

"Oh please, Shadow. You've had your head buried in books and computers for the past couple of weeks!"

The crimson-splashed hedgehog ignored her and continued with his research. He had a thought about using chaos emeralds to stop Mephiles. His past memories showed him a solution about using the emeralds, but the memory was too blurry to make out. And Shadow wasn't even sure if the chaos emeralds would even work against the demon. He had tried unleashing on the basterd, and even that didn't work.

But what about the Master Emerald? Would it prove more effective and succeed where the chaos emeralds had failed? Would be worth a try. But then he'd have to get past Knuckles first. Nevertheless, both echidna and hedgehog were fighting the same enemy so Knuckles shouldn't be too dead set against using the Master Emerald.

"Rouge," Shadow called out. "would you happen to know where the guardian is hiding?"

"Knuckles?" Rouge replied. "I think he's at that kid's workshop in Mystic Ruins."

That was perfect. The Master Emerald was also located at Mystic Ruins. The Midnight hedgehog couldn't ask for anything more.

"Let's go meet him then." Shadow told the female bat.

At Mystic Ruins, Tails was busy making modifications to the Tornado and all the weapons they had. Cream became his little helper, and Vanilla kept the inside of the Workshop tidy. Knuckles all the while, was keeping watch outside with a wary out for Mephiles. He had to wonder how Sonic and Amy were doing. Was Amy safe? Was Sonic doing his job protecting her? Were they both okay? Then, the echidna's amethyst orbs were caught by two figures in the distance. It was Shadow and Rouge. Wonder what they wanted?

"What brings you guys out here?" Knuckles asked when the hedgehog and bat arrived.

"I have a theory about the Master Emerald." Shadow told him.

Knuckles stiffened up. He wasn't exactly comfortable about letting others use the Master Emerald for anything. But he listened to Shadow's suggestion.

"Is it possible that we can use it against Mephiles?" the crimson-splashed hedgehog continued.

Now that had the ruby guardian really thinking. That would be something to try. However there were flaws with that idea.

"It's a possibility." Knuckles replied. "We can't use it to trap the basterd though. There was a chaos emerald consuming beast trapped in there already."

Rouge threw a surprised look.

"Was there?" she asked.

"Trapping Mephiles is not my intention." Shadow said. "My intention is to destroy him."

"Well, I suppose." Knuckles replied, scratching the back of his head.

Then, Tails came trotting outside.

"Oh, hey guys!" the kitsune said after seeing Rouge and Shadow. "So what's up?"

"We're thinking about using the Master Emerald to stop Mephiles." Knuckles told him. Then he turned back to Shadow. "Just answer me one thing. Why all the sudden do you want to used the Master Emerald?"

"Those memories that Mephiles implanted into me, showed me something about using emeralds to stop him." Shadow explained. "I can't figure out doing what, however."

There was a brief moment of silence between them."

"What about going Super?" Tails said unwittingly.

Shadow's ruby orbs widened in realization. The young fox had just given him the missing piece of the blurred memory. He and Sonic had gone Super to stop Mephiles when he was the super-god, Solaris.

"Dammit, I am such an idiot!" Shadow cursed.

"Shadow?" Rouge said, confused.

"THAT'S what it was. The blue hedgehog and I attained our Super Forms and took Mephiles down."

Knuckles was feeling just as stupid.

"Damn! Why the hell didn't _I_ think of that?" he ranted.

"Alright, geniuses." Rouge interjected, trying to break up the stormy atmosphere. "We'll be needing all the emeralds for that, so lets get busy. And just in case, we'll use the Master Emerald for an extra boost."

The three boys nodded.

"Right, I'll inform Sonic." Knuckles said.

The sky was clear as a figure perched atop a huge rock in Wave Ocean. It was Mephiles. He was about to be at his wits end. At the same time he was vaguely impressed. The demon still hadn't located his sakura mate. Now he was having great difficulty trying to find her. Mephiles was impressed that those imbeciles were able to hide her that well and for that long. She couldn't have disappeared off the face of the planet. The female had to be somewhere.

Mephiles sat on the rock cross-legged and closed his eyes in meditation. His mind then traveled in different direction as he used telepathy.

'Amy...where are you? Tell me...'

Mephiles' mind went to Dusty Desert, but didn't find anything there. Next, he went to Spagonia. Still nothing. Then he searched Apotos which was nearby.

'Amy...'

Suddenly, he got a reaction. He heard the young flower give out a sharp gasp. Then, he was able to hear the frantic thoughts that followed. When the demon heard that gasp, his pale green eyes shot open. And then, an evil smile slowly appeared on his chalky grey muzzle.

'...Found you...'


	32. Chapter 32

-Chapter 32-

Sonic was walking back towards Amy's direction from a chilidog stand, when he saw his sakura counterpart trembling with fright.

"Amy?" he called. "Are you alright?"

She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Her muzzle and face had become pale.

"S-sonic..." Amy stammered. "...I...I think he found me."

"Who? Mephiles?" Sonic asked.

"Y-yes."

The cherry-pink female was just about to faint. Sonic wrapped his arms around her shaking frame. He was afraid that she would make herself have a panic attack.

"Amy, calm down." the blue blur whispered gently. "Relax."

Amy wouldn't let up on her fear. She could still hear the demon's dark laughter in her head.

"Sonic...I think we should leave Apotos." she said.

"Why?" Sonic asked, surprised.

Before Amy could answer, the cyan hedgehog's communicator rang out.

"Sup? Oh hey Knuckles."

Sonic took Amy back to the house they were hiding in so nobody else would listen in on their conversation.

"So what's the word, Knux?" Sonic asked.

"We have one more shot at this." Knuckles explained. "We're going to collect all the chaos emeralds so you and Shadow can go Super."

"Sounds good to me. I don't' mind going Super on that asshole."

"Rouge had gone to Dusty Desert to retrieve two other chaos emeralds. Shadow, Tails, and I are coming to Apotos right now with the rest of them. Rouge will meet us there."

"Alright, there's a temple on the far corner of the village that nobody really uses anymore. We'll rendezvous there."

"See you, Sonic."

When the cerulean male closed up his communicator, he noticed that Amy was absent. He went into the bedroom in search of the sakura hedgehog and found her curled up in a ball on the bed. As Sonic got closer, his ear twitched to the sound of quiet sobbing. He sat down gently on the bed, making Amy jump. Sonic had never seen her look so scared before. She looked absolutely terrified.

"Amy, what is it?" Sonic asked lowly.

"I'm...I'm so scared, Sonic." Amy rasped. "I don't want to go back with...HIM."

The blue blur started stroking her muzzle, wiping her tears away with his thumb.

"Amy, how do you know he's coming here?" Sonic asked.

"I can hear his voice in my head." Amy said in a small voice. "He knows where I am."

"Well, you don't have to worry anymore, Amy. Knux and the rest of the gang are on their way here and we're gonna send that guy back where he came from."

Somehow, the cherry-pink girl wasn't convinced. The poor thing was scared shitless. Sonic could easily see that Amy needed some reassurance and major TLC. He wrapped his arms around her and started rocking her gently back and forth.

"It's gonna be okay, Amy." he quietly told her.

Amy sobbed into his furry tan chest, clutching her cyan hero tightly. Sonic just continued to rock her and nuzzle her neck. While the intention was clearly affectionate, Amy's neck began to have a burning sensation. Something inside her that was part of Mephiles, was rejecting Sonic. Something that just made Amy cry harder.

The sun was just beginning to set late that afternoon. Knuckles, Tails and Shadow arrived to Apotos via Tails' bi-plane, the Tornado. The village was a bit empty right now and awfully quiet. Not many people were out and about.

"The blue hedgehog said that this temple is around the corner, correct?" Shadow said.

"Yeah." Knuckles replied. "It shouldn't be too hard to find."

The trio then set out for the temple. Meanwhile, Sonic and Amy had already arrived at the rendezvous point. The place was dead quiet. Sonic was sitting in a pew with Amy lying down in his lap. Sonic ran his eyes around the building looking at the stained-glass windows and the iron candle holders. Amy kept flinching and jumping at every loud noise that was made. The blue blur just sat there quietly while stroking her soft quills. Then the front doors came open, causing Amy to shoot up like a prairie dog in a panic.

"Whoa, Amy calm down." Sonic said, pulling her down.

It turned out to be just Knuckles, Shadow, and Tails, making Amy feel relieved.

"What's up guys?" Sonic greeted. "Long time no see."

"Rouge should be joining us shortly." Shadow told him.

"She still in Dusty Desert?" the blue speedster asked.

"Yep." Knuckles replied. "We've collected 5 emeralds here."

Tails came forward and pulled a satchel off him. It was filled with glowing chaos emeralds.

"Sweet!" Sonic piped. "And Rouge is getting the last two?"

"Correct." Shadow replied. "All that's left is to-"

The ebony hedgehog was suddenly interrupted when the building started to quake. The wax candles hanging on the chandeliers and the walls, bursted into flames. The group braced themselves as Sonic took a defensive stance over Amy. The doors were blown open and standing in the doorway, was the evil demon himself. Knuckles quickly turned to Sonic.

"Go, get her out of here!" he frantically told him.

Sonic snatched Amy from where she was standing and raced into the bell tower. The rest of the team remained to fight the demon, who was completely annoyed with them.

"I've come for my wife." Mephiles declared.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING!" Knuckles roared.

The echidna threw a punch at the demon but Mephiles blocked it and swiped him away. Next, Shadow launched himself at him and held the otherworldly monster at bay.

Sonic, with Amy in his arms, went up into the bell tower and jumped from the balcony onto another rooftop. Amy was shaking from all the excitement as she buried her face into the cyan hedgehog's chest. He raced into another building and hid inside it. It was all dark in there and no light switches. After getting into a large room, Sonic put his sakura companion down and started to check her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yes." Amy stammered.

The poor girl could hardly stand up because her knees were shaking so hard. Sonic spotted a chair nearby and sat Amy down in it. The cherry-pink hedgehog started to rub her head.

"I-I don't think I can take much more of this..." she whimpered.

"Just hang in there, Amy." Sonic said softly.

Suddenly, there was an explosion from below, making Amy gasp.

"I-It's him!" she cried.

Heavy footsteps were heard from the ground floor.

"Oh little Rose..." a rusty voice rang out in a sing-song tone. "..come out, come out, wherever you are."

This made Amy shudder while Sonic let out a growl.

'Damn, he must have iced the guys back there.' he thought.

The cerulean male quickly, but gently, pulled Amy out of her seat and pushed her towards the next room, which was small and cluttered.

"You hide in here, okay?" Sonic told her.

"But...Sonic..." Amy protested.

"No buts, Amy. Just listen to me."

Amy reluctantly nodded and scampered into the next room shutting the door behind her. Sonic prepared himself for another fight as Mephiles entered.

"You again?" he sighed. "How many times must I kill you?"

"You know me." Sonic chuckled. "I never go down."

Mephiles exchanged the grin.

"Lets test that shall we?"

The two hedgehogs charged at each other and attacked. Sonic spin dashed at the demon as he fired large crystal shards at him. The blue blur threw kicks and punches at Mephiles, being somewhat as merciless as him. Mephiles on the other hand was a little surprised that Sonic was giving off more force than before. Nevertheless, he was just a stupid mortal to him. Amy meanwhile was in the next room shivering in fear. Sonic and Mephiles continued to duke it out until the cyan hedgehog managed to put the crystal-clad demon into the ground.

'Well, how 'bout that?' Sonic mentally quipped.

He was about to go and grab Amy, until Mephiles suddenly grabbed his ankle and slammed him against the wall.

"AUGHH!" Sonic yelled in pain.

Then Mephiles punched him hard in the gut, causing him to cough up blood. The blue blur fell to the ground, weakened and in pain.

"That was fun." Mephiles hissed in glee. "And if you survive this, perhaps we can do it again."

Sonic struggled to get up as Mephiles walked away, but his body wouldn't obey his mind's commands. Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream from the next room.

"No...AMY!" Sonic rasped.

He finally managed to get to his feet, and rushed towards the room where the young flower was hiding. The room turned out to be bare empty and dead quiet.

"DAMMIT!" Sonic shouted in rage as he punched the wall.


	33. Chapter 33

-Chapter 33-

Shadow and Knuckles had used to the chaos emeralds to ward off Mephiles and teleport themselves, including Tails, to another part of the village. Tails then used his 'Sonic Trackers' to locate Sonic and Amy. They all rushed towards the building where the tracker indicated the location of the blue blur, hoping to get there before Mephiles could catch up with them. Once they entered a secluded area, the twin-tailed fox pinpointed which building Sonic was in.

"In there!" Tails exclaimed, pointing.

Before they headed in, Shadow's communicator went off.

"This is Rouge." piped a voice through the speaker. "Where the hell are you guys?"

"We ran into some interferences." Shadow told her. "Wait for us at the village entrance."

They went into the vacant building in search of the cerulean speedster.

"Sonic?" Tails called out.

Silence.

"Sonic?" Knuckles joined in. "...Amy?"

"...Here!" a voice rasped not.

The trio went upstairs and found the blue blur struggling to his feet. A dry trail of blood matted the fur on his muzzle.

"Sonic! Are you alright?" Tails cried.

"I'll live." Sonic muttered.

"Where's Amy?" Knuckles questioned.

"The basterd took her!" Sonic yelled, infuriated.

"Dammit!"

"Tell me we have all seven emeralds."

"Rouge just radioed in. She's waiting for us at the gates." Shadow said.

"First, we find that basterd, and get Amy away from him!" Sonic exclaimed.

Mephiles flew a little ways from Apotos. It was a large, grassy, and hilly area with random windmills all over. Picking one that was near a gigantic boulder, the demon flew into it. The inside looked as if someone had made it a home. There was a tattered couch and a worn out cabinet. In Mephiles' arms was a frightened Amy Rose. She was struggling and kicking to get away from him. The demon threw her onto the couch and got on top of her before she had a chance to get away.

"Let me go!" she wailed. "Please!"

Mephiles ignored her and pulled her into a liplock. Amy let out a muffled cry and tried squirming away. The crystal-clad monster transformed back into his hedgehog form and firmly pinned her down but was careful of her belly. He licked her neck, making the female beneath him whimper. Interestingly enough, the burning sensation that was there before vanished as Mephiles embraced her.

"If you weren't with child my sweet, I'd take you right here and now." he murmured in glee.

Amy made another whimper. Her eyes were shut tight with tears leaking out of them.

'Sonic...' she cried frantically in her mind. 'please help me!'

"Are you still thinking of that whelp?" Mephiles cried, aghast.

Amy remained silent. She refused to answer him. The demon let out a big sigh and gently laid down beside her. The sakura hedgehog tried to move away from him, but he wrapped an arm around her torso and dragged her back towards him. Amy let out another cry and tried pushing him away.

"Kiahhh! Let go of me!" she whimpered.

"Never." Mephiles moaned while sucking on her bite mark, leaving a hickey. "Never again. You belong to me."

"No...I don't."

"Yes. You. Do!"

Amy finally had enough of this guy. She at least had to try one last shot to fight him. The cherry-pink hedgehog summoned her Piko-Piko hammer and whacked the demon off her.

"AUGH!" Mephiles roared.

Amy quickly got off the tattered couch and scampered away. She went up a staircase into a small area with a window. The young flower looked out the window and found that she was a little ways above ground. Jumping was out of the question. She could not only seriously hurt herself, she could also harm the baby inside her. Possibly even kill it. Amy couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Have you had enough fun yet?"

Amy spun around and saw Mephiles leaning on the wall with his arms folded. The female hedgehog backed away and started to climb the windowsill.

"I'll...I'll jump out." she threatened.

"Don't be ridiculous." Mephiles retorted.

He raised a hand and suddenly, Amy was jerked forward and dragged back into the demon's arms. Then, Mephiles sealed the window with his large purple crystal shards. The sakura hedgehog squirmed in Mephiles' hold.

"Please, just leave me alone!" she begged.

"You honestly believe that after threatening to kill yourself and our child, I'd leave you by yourself?" the demon leered. "Silly girl."

As more crystals appeared around the inside the inside and outside of the windmill, a piercing scream filled the silence.

"C'mon!" Sonic exclaimed. "Let's get the hell outta here already!"

"Will you just hold on for a second?" Knuckles ranted. "You're injured! We need to treat you." The echidna then turned to the ebony hedgehog next to him. "Shadow, will you help me with this?"

"Hmph. If he kept up with that attitude any further, he would be well out of luck." Shadow murmured.

The crimson-splashed male and the ruby guardian came together and used Chaos Regenerate to heal Sonic. His bruises and cuts disappeared within seconds. After the deed was done, Sonic stretched himself out and cricked his neck a little.

"All right, let's go!" the blue blur exclaimed.

The team arrived at the village gate where Rouge waiting impatiently.

"You know, it's not very fun playing the 'waiting game'." she cracked.

"Save it, Rouge." Knuckles barked. "Now where's those emeralds?"

"No need to be rude."

The female bat revealed the green and yellow chaos emeralds. Knuckles took them and joined them with the other five.

"Wait, what about Amy?" Sonic interjected. "We need to find her."

"Not to worry." Tails said. "I've placed a small tracking device on her. We'll be able to locate her."

After a moment of silence, Sonic nodded.

"Okay, let's do this." he said.

Both the cyan male and Shadow came together with the seven chaos emerald and began to glow like the setting sun.

Back at the windmill, the area surrounding it and the windmill itself were covered with purple crystals. The grass, the trees, and everything else were crystallized. Mephiles was atop the windmill surveying his handiwork. Then he went inside to join his mate. Amy was lying on the tattered couch, paralyzed. The demon put another spell on the sakura hedgehog so she couldn't move. Mephiles approached her, back in his hedgehog form. Amy saw him and promptly turned her head away.

"I'm sorry I had to do this to you, my sweet." the demon cooed stroking Amy's bangs. "But unless you concede I'll have to keep doing drastic things like this. Don't worry though, our child will continue to grow naturally until it's ready to be born."

Amy continued to face away from him. Her eyes were screwed shut again. Even though she was paralyzed, she still trembled at Mephiles' touch. The demon sat down beside her and began to gently rub her baby bump. A tear ran down her cheek. Mephiles caught it and wiped it away.

"Now, don't be like that, my dear." he whispered.

He bent forward and pulled the cherry-pink female into a liplock. Amy let out a whimper.

'Sonikku...'

At almost no time at all, the team being guided by both Super Sonic and Super Shadow, reached their target destination.

"Boy oh boy, this place is practically surrounded by crystals." Rouge said.

"It also screams Mephiles." Super Sonic pointed out. "So what's the plan, Shadow?"

"You will retrieve Amy Rose, and I shall distract Mephiles." Super Shadow said. "I'll make the first move. Make sure he doesn't see you."

"Right."

Meanwhile, Mephiles had got onto the couch with Amy in his lap. He was stroking her quills as if she were his pet kitten and occasionally rubbing her baby bump. The sakura female continued to face away from the demon and not even acknowledge him. Mephiles just stared down at her lovingly, even though she didn't exactly return the gestures. Suddenly, the crystals around the pair began to glow and give out an alarming pitch of a noise. Mephiles narrowed his eyes and got up from the couch.

"It appears I have some unwanted company to dismiss." the demon said.

He transformed into his demonic form again and went outdoors. Looking around to see who or what was causing the disturbance, he was suddenly ambushed by Super Shadow. Caught totally off guard, Mephiles retaliated, but was blown away by the golden crimson-splashed hedgehog's chaos blast.

"This time," Super Shadow hissed. "you die."

"You...first!" Mephiles grunted.

As they began to duke it out, Super Sonic snuck into the crystal covered windmill in search of Amy. One thing he noticed coming in, was that the crystals were starting to dull and power down. Perhaps Mephiles' powers were starting to wane against Super Shadow's powers along with Super Sonic's own aura. Returning focus to the task at hand, the golden hedgehog went in search of his cherry-pink companion.

Amy Rose was beginning to feel somewhat strange. It felt as if the spell that Mephiles had placed on her earlier, was starting to wear off. The mark on her neck felt all tingly. Just what in the world was going on? Suddenly, she saw a yellow glow at the corner of her eye. Amy wondered what it was. She certainly hope it wasn't fire. The scent of smoke in the room was nowhere to be found, so perhaps it wasn't. Then her jade orbs widened when she heard a voice she thought she wouldn't hear ever again.

"Amy? You in here?"

It was Sonic. He must be in his Super form if there was a yellow glow. Amy struggled in her waning paralysis to make herself known. Super Sonic was still searching around for the sakura hedgehog and was starting to think that Mephiles hid her elsewhere. That was until he heard a raspy little voice.

"S...s...s-sonic?"

The golden male's ears perked up.

"Amy? Talk to me. Where are you?" he called out.

"O..over...here..."

Super Sonic followed her voice towards a small area blocked off by dimming crystals. With one blow, he got through them. As the dust cleared, he saw his lover on a worn out couch. Both their eyes widened with relief and joy.

"S-sonikku..."

"Amy!"

Super Sonic flew to her side and scooped her up. He frantically nuzzled her face, chin, and neck. Amy tried doing the same, but she was still sort of numb from Mephiles' spell, which was beginning to wane more rapidly since Super Sonic came. His golden aura was purifying everything the demon tainted.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Super Sonic asked at a fast pace.

"I'm...I'm okay." Amy rasped.

Another few minutes went by as the male hedgehog snuggled his female companion a little more before taking her into his arms.

"C'mon, let's get you out of here." Super Sonic said softly.


	34. Chapter 34

-Chapter 34-

Mephiles instantly became furious when he sensed that his telepathic connection with Amy was starting to get cut off. He turned toward the windmill and attempted to separate her from Super Sonic. Instead he was ambushed again by Super Shadow from behind.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" the golden and crimson hedgehog roared.

Mephiles himself let out a cry of fury and unleashed an entire horde of his demonic familiars at the glowing male.

XXXXXX

As Super Sonic made his way out of the windmill with Amy in his arms, demonic familiars suddenly popped out at them. They surrounded the pair and attempted to wrench Amy away from Super Sonic. He quickly used his chaos powers to blow them away while keeping a tight grip on the sakura hedgehog without hurting her at the same time. As the familiars melted into the floor, more crystals uprooted to bar their way.

"Amy, how are you holding up?" Sonic asked.

"I'm...I'm alright." Amy rasped.

"Okay. Hold on tight!"

The shining hedgehog charged forward like a bullet from a gun. He crashed out of the crystallized windmill and into a groove of trees on a higher hill. Amy was frozen in his arms and had her eyes shut tight.

"Amy, you can open your eyes now." Super Sonic said with a teasing smile.

The female slowly opened her jade orbs and looked around. They both saw Super Shadow and Mephiles duking it out. Amy sort of tensed up at the sight of the demon. Then, the pair was suddenly joined by Knuckles.

"Amy, I have to go back up Shadow now." Super Sonic quietly told his cherry-pink companion. "You have to stay here with Knuckles, okay?"

"But...Sonic.." Amy started, but then paused. "You...you be careful, you hear me?"

"Don't worry about me, Amy."

He carefully put her down into Knuckles' aim who handled her with extreme care. Then he flew off to join Super Shadow.

"Hey! Mephil-jerkus! Miss me?" he sneered as he approached the demon and performed a spin dash on him.

Super Shadow didn't seem too pleased.

"What's kept you faker?" he asked in a low voice.

"Well, if you remember, I had a fragile package to deliver to Knuckle to keep an eye on." Sonic replied coyly.

Mephiles grunted and flew up to face the two Super-Powered hedgehogs.

"You...you will ALL DIEEEE!" he roared.

The demon went all out on them, causing the environment around them to become unstablized. But that alone did not faze the two golden furred hedgehogs. As far as they were concerned, Mephiles was going down. For good.

"Chaos, CONTROL!" they shouted.

Both Super Sonic and Shadow fired a beam at the demon and blew him away. He wasn't obliterated, but he was considerably weakened. Then, Mephiles summoned his lava monsters from the bowls of the earth below. The ground ripped open and spewed out liquid hot magma, nearly hitting Super Sonic.

"WHOA!" he cried as he dodged molten lava.

"MRAAA HA HA HAAAAAA!" Mephiles laughed out.

While Super Sonic was in recovery mode, Super Shadow retaliated at the demon. Mephiles in turn doubled his assault on him. Biters launched themselves at the saffron and ruby male and mindlessly attempted to bring him down with them, while golems threw fire balls at him. Mephiles watched in devious delight until he was suddenly attacked by Super Sonic from behind.

"Didn't your mother tell you to never play with fire?" the golden hedgehog joked.

Mephiles growled and punched Super Sonic right square in the jaw. He then pushed him all the way down into the ground in a violent manner.

"I'll make you pay for even touching mate!" the demon hissed.

"Likewise!" Super Sonic exclaimed.

He punched Mephiles in the gut, making him spew out blood. The glowing speedster then tornado kicked him out of his face and into the ground. Super Shadow promptly put Mephiles further into the earth bellow. The demon was getting more and more frustrated and irritated. Meanwhile, watching from a safe distance was Rouge and Tails, both of whom were cheering and rooting the two hedgehogs on. At an even safer distance was Amy and Knuckles. The ruby echidna watched the battle quietly while the cherry-pink hedgehog looked on with worry.

'Sonikku...' she thought. 'please be careful.'

The bite mark on her neck was still tingling in a funny way. Amy couldn't tell if was because Mephiles was slowly losing his influence over her or something entirely different. She suddenly felt a nudge from her belly, prompting the young flower to bring her hands over it. Amy had to wonder, suppose if Mephiles was destroyed, what would happen then? Would the baby disappear? Would it take on its father's powers and behavior? Amy gave a little whimper at the many burning questions. The unknown was beginning to frighten her more than Mephiles himself.

Mephiles was thrown to the ground once more. All his lava monsters were disintegrated and were of no help to him anymore. Now he was desperate. With no other recourse, Mephiles melted into the ground.

"NO!" Super Shadow shouted. "He's getting away!"

But instead of escaping, Mephiles emerged a giant black and purple glowing monster. The same kind of monster that Shadow, Rouge and E-123 Omega encountered when they were in Dusty Desert and when Mephiles and Iblis first arisen.

"Damn!" Super Shadow cursed.

Like this, Mephiles was quite powerful. His bright aura made everyone shield their vision for a moment. Amy clutched the cleft of her neck as her bite mark started to sting rather sharply. The pain caused her to fall to her knees and cry out. Knuckles was quick to the young flower's aide.

"Oh Knuckles..." Amy rasped. "...it hurts..."

"Hold on, Amy." Knuckles said while shielding her.

Super Sonic and Shadow continued their assault on the monstrous demon. Their attacks were now starting to have no affect on him. Mephiles let out a roar and fired a huge purple beam at the fighting duo. With quick thinking and action, they managed to dodge it as it obliterated some windmills and a bit of the landscape.

"Holy crap..." Super Sonic sputtered, overwhelmed by Mephiles true power.

"Don't lose your resolve now, Sonic." Super Shadow warned.

"I'm not. But it looks like we're going to have to attack together if we're gonna bent him!"

The glowing crimson-splashed hedgehog nodded in agreement. They both came together, and charged up their powers.

"CHAOS, CONTROLL!"

Mephiles was hit by a powerful beam erecting from the two golden hedgehogs, greatly wakening him. He fell onto the ground and was now partly a huge puddle of dark matter. Super Shadow and Super took this opportunity to finish him off before he had a chance to regenerate.

"Let's finish this, Shadow!" Super Sonic called out.

"Agreed." Super Shadow replied.

They charged at the melting monster at full speed like a nuclear rocket. Upon impact, the two male hedgehog disappeared inside the monster's body. Then two minutes later, Mephiles let out a roar and his body was suddenly obliterated into millions of tiny crystals shards. They in turn melted into the pools of lava that were opened up from before. Super Sonic and Shadow slowly floated down to the ground as they reverted back to their normal forms. Mephiles was completely destroyed.

"They did it!" Tails cheered.

Amy stared at the scene in a state of semi-shock and with a dead pan face as the reality of what just occurred, hit her like a ton of bricks. Mephiles was gone for good. He would haunt or torture her no more. The sakura hedgehog was finally free from his hold. The pain from her neck disappeared completely. In fact, it was like the bite mark on her neck never existed. Amy's vision began to dissolve to black as she toppled over like a rag doll.

"Amy!" Knuckles cried, catching her.


	35. Epilogue

-Epilogue: 6 months later-

It was a nice sunny day in the Green Hill Zone. The birds were singing their songs, and the clouds were seldom rolling along with the slight breeze in the air. Everything seemed to be back to perfectly normal. A pair of hedgehogs was sitting up against the trunk of a huge tree. They were Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose. The blue blur was lazily snoozing with one arm behind his head and the other wrapped securely around his new mate. Amy was nestled comfortably in her hero's lap, and letting out a sigh as the cool breeze ruffled her soft pink quills.

A lot had happened in 6 months. Rouge and Shadow returned to the G.U.N. HQ with a new mission waiting for them from Commander Tower. Tails was able to repair his burnt up workshop in Station Square with the help of Knuckles and Sonic. They even recruited the Chaotix for more assistance in the reconstruction. After that was the completed, Knuckles promptly returned to the Master Emerald to guard it from would-be-thieves. Like Rouge.

As for Amy, her future arrived after months of pregnancy. Bundled up in a magenta blanker in the sakura hedgehog's arms, was a tiny female hoglett. Her fur was same shade of pink as her mother's, and like her mother, she sported bangs. The tips of her bangs as well as her quills, were shaded a light grey. Amy had named her Bella. When she was born, the event had caused some animosity in Knuckles and Shadow. But nothing bad or terrible happened. In fact, Bella didn't seem to inherit any of her biological father's powers though being an infant, it was too early to tell at this point. On a lighter note, the hoglett took quite a shine to Sonic, who of course assumed the role of being her father. Or in this case, 'step-father'. Since Mephiles was destroyed, the bite mark on Amy's neck was reduced to a simple scare. It didn't give or cause the young flower any pain whatsoever.

Sonic was starting to wake from his little nap. He opened his emerald orbs half way and saw his cherry-pink lover starting to fall asleep on him, making the cerulean male stretch a smile on his muzzle. Then a low cooing from the flower's arms alerted both their attention. Bella was well awake now, looking up at her mother and foster father with bright eyes. Another thing that the little infant inherited from Amy was her sparkling jade eyes. Sonic stroked Bella's tiny nose with his finger, and she promptly grabbed it with her little hands and began sucking on it.

"I think 'the lil' nudger' his hungry, Ames." Sonic cracked whole heartedly.

The sakura female nodded in agreement and they both got up to head for Amy's house. Everything was peaceful again since Mephiles was destroyed. Whether he would or could return through Bella or not was only something for time itself to reveal.

-FINIS-


	36. By Popular Demand

Well, everyone wants it, so I guess I'll do it. Peoplez, I shall be writing a one-shot sequel to this fic. Just a one-shot. But don't worry it'll be a LONG one-shot. Anyway, expect it this November :)

Oh yes, it's going to be called, _Return of Darkness_.

Peace out!


End file.
